Some of you were wondering about the school and when we start.....
The American International School of Bamako has a current enrollment of about 160 students, PreK2 - Gr 12, although facilities are prepared for lots of growth. We have second levels in much of the school that are currently not used. The school is situated in the Zone Industrielle on the banks of the Niger River, and has very lush and spacious grounds that are surrounded on three sides by walls and and a fence and a lot of thick and snake/critter filled brush on the river bank side.
No one comes in without identification, and the National Guard has armed soldiers posted outside each of the four corners of the grounds all day. (When I was in Laos, there were guards with AK47's posted around the US Ambassador's house just down the lane, so that's not too weird for me.)
We have already had one fire drill and one lockdown drill (for the teachers).
There are 'basic' lockdowns, where everyone stays in their classrooms with doors locked and curtains closed and as far away from windows as possible. (We did these drills in Malaysia, too.) There is also an all school lockdown, where everyone goes to the safe room. Apparently all US Embassy affiliated schools are built with a safe room....just in case..... Ours is the multi-purpose room (indoor gym/theatre). It has metal doors and metal window covers and is equipped with a supply of water and yummy freeze dried rations, radio contact with the Embassy....and yes....port-a-potties, too.
Students came back last Tuesday, August 18 and that first day we had a run-through day of all the classes so that students could meet their teachers (and vice versa) and everyone could get a feel for how the classes will be.
Things are full on now and I am keeping about a half-step of the students in my planning and preparation. Still scattered in trying to figure out what I need to be teaching and how I'll go about that....plus plan for it all following a logical sequence! Being out of the classroom for the past 12 years, certainly has me floundering at the moment! But things are coming together and I'm starting to feel like I almost/kind of know what direction I'm headed with my courses.
I have art with grades 2/3, grades 4/5 and grade 6. I also have a three-dimensional art class with grade 10s. I have drama with grades 7/8 and a theatre arts/skills class with mostly grade 11s. Most classes meet 3 times a week.
The toughest one for me is the Theatre Arts class. It's a class of 9 high school students and they've all done all of the things that I am supposed to be teaching them this year. They want to try something different and are quite excited about putting on a musical parody of something (yet to be determined) so I think that will be fun. We'll (they'll) have to write the script, run auditions and direct and manage the performance. I'm going to try to upgrade the theatre lighting with coloured bulbs (we only have white) so that we can better set some moods and scenes.
Equally tough for me are the little guys (gr 2/3) in art. I thought they could do more than they can, so I've been rethinking their curriculum....
Days are long. Classes start at 7:30 and end at 2:45. That means I have to be up at about 5:45 am. Argh.....still getting up in the dark! Thursday is our staff meeting day so students are released at 1:20. All days except Thursday, students have after school activities from 3:00 to 4:00. Each teacher has to run one activity each quarter. I'm going to try having grades 6 - 12 for Tai Chi for the first quarter.
There's a kitchen on site and a woman named Fanta (and her team) prepares lunches for the students each day. During the first week of teacher meetings, Fanta provided some great lunches for the staff. Plus a local bakery sells croissants and snacks in the school store in the mornings...and you can order bread from them; they will bring it to the school for you in the afternoon. Apparently they have a whole wheat loaf that is pretty good. But honestly......I've eaten more bread......and beef.....here in the past few weeks than I do in a whole year otherwise.
I like my house, but it's not as close to the school as I thought it would be, so I can't really walk there. Okay....I COULD....but it would take me about 45 minutes to an hour....along the busy main road mostly....currently in rainy conditions...soon to be in dusty conditions.....so it really is NOT an option. And being so far out has really underscored the the need to buy a vehicle to get to school and just get around in general. Unfortunately, cars/suvs are much more expensive than I thought they would be and I missed out on getting a pretty good deal because I balked at the price...which...now that I know better....was not so high after all. The school does provide an interest free loan of up to $6000 USD for a car, so that helps. I am hoping to get out to look at some vehicles soon with our facilities manager, but it's a matter of matching up our in and out of school schedules to do so.
In the meantime, I've been trying to take taxis to and from school. It has not been a good experiment. The drivers are unreliable and inconsiderate. I haven't had a driver yet come on time in the morning and I've arrived at school in a panic too many mornings. The fellow who was picking me up in the afternoons was pretty good, but the other day, after I was waiting for a while, I called him to find out if he was coming or not. Oh....sorry....not working today. And I was supposed to know that....how??? Totally did not think to call me, a regular client, to let me know.
After that, one of the guards at the school arranged someone new for me and today was a positive experience. On time in the morning, and called to say he had some car trouble in the afternoon but was on his way. I share this taxi with a Gr 12 student, who very kindly sent me a lovely email after talking with the guard and arranging the taxi for me. Hopefully this driver will be consistent and considerate so I don't have to worry each morning or afternoon if I will have a ride or not. It's been an additional stress. Hoping all goes well with the transport tomorrow and subsequent days until I have my own wheels.
I have a housekeeper named Saran (sah-rahn) who cleans my house every day (even in the rainy season, there's a lot of dust), does my laundry, and cooks for me. Mostly tasty, and it's been great to not have to cook when I get home. I think she's excited to go through her repertoire of meals with me. Again....lots of beef dishes and wheat products. And canned vegetables. And fried things. We have to talk.
Nooks is slowly getting used to her and Saran is well aware of the doors closed at all times policy so that Nooks won't make a panicked escape.
Today we had a representative from a local travel agency come to tell us about some of the local, nearby and more distant trips we could take. This is good as we have a week off near the end of September. Depending on travel advisories, many of us do want to get out of Bamako to do some exploring.
I have found a kindred spirit here named Shannon who teaches kindergarten. We have hit it off quite well and I think we will be hanging out together quite a bit. She lives over in the area where most of the teacher houses are, so it's not so easy to just pop in on each other. We will probably plan something together for the Sept break. Plus we both want to explore the city a bit more, too....but that requires wheels. Soon.....
I was glad of Shannon's company last weekend when I went to buy a phone.
Silly me.....I thought I could just go into the phone company store, pick out a phone, pay for it and be on my way. Nope. Picked out the cheapest phone that took a mini sim card then was ushered to a desk where there were three guys at the computer. Two of them spent a long time putting things into the computer....scanning my passport....entering data.... Every now and then, one of them would ask me a question....that I did or did not understand (everything happens in French here), and did my best to answer, then back to the computer. At least Shannon and I could joke and laugh about the whole process together and wonder about what the heck was going on. After almost an hour, I got my passport back, paid for my phone and got a lovely little bag with my new phone and receipt. And we were free to go. I'm sure we were a topic of conversation for much of the day in that office.....the crazy white girls who didn't know nothin'!
Here's the link to a Google map of Bamako, with a few places highlighted, to give you an idea of where I really am!
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=zW2Yao6GU9r4.k5hjhKzY3HnA
Sunday, 23 August 2015
Saturday, 15 August 2015
Journey Without - Settling in to Bamako and Mali
This past week has been a blur, as I suspect many upcoming weeks will also become.
On the household front, the school has been great at making sure that any repairs or work that need to be done in our homes are done promptly, so all light switches, fans, A/C's, windows, doors and locks are all now in good working order. I asked to have all the sliding screen inserts screwed in place so Nooks couldn't accidentally (perhaps in a frenzy to get at a bird outside the window) move the not-so-secure screen and escape.
I've put in a work request to have both the front patio and back patio screened in, too.... that's for me to sit out in the morning/evenings without mosquito worries and for Nooks to be 'outside' the house a bit, too. The whole house is surrounded by a high wall, but there are a couple of places in the back and in the front where trees or bushes would provide an escape over the top....so....eventually....but not for a while....and only after I figure out how to limit the climbing height.....Nooks will be able to go outside, under very close supervision.
Nooks has met the housekeeper, Saran, on Saturday, and even ventured out from under the bed a few times on her own. She spends a lot of time under the bed. :-( She's still pretty freaked out by the noises from the upstairs apartment and from the guards in the yard. I hope she'll get somewhat used to them.
There are lots of animals in the yard. Some small red-headed finches with white eye circles, lots of small and medium sized lizards of varying colours, and big geckoes. I'll have to find some time to just sit out and photograph them all.
I've seen some lizards with bright yellow heads and tails and some intense blue birds and a couple of red parrots on drives to and from school, too.
The most interesting and disturbing critter was the one Nooks was playing with last Sunday night in the bedroom.....I thought she'd gotten a little gecko, but it didn't look quite right..... When I got closer, I saw that it was a little (about 2" long) scorpion! Freak me right out. I got Nooks away from it and it headed under the frame to my closet. Lovely. Fortunately, it couldn't get through and couldn't fully hide in the little crack. I managed to pull it out with a paper towel and do away with it. Then I was all creeped out and figured that if there was one there must be more. It seemed like it was a baby so I was concerned that there was a nest of them somewhere..! I looked in and under and behind everything in the house with the flashlight, but didn't find any others. When I mentioned it to the facilities manager the next day, he thought for sure I meant something else and was very surprised to learn that it had, indeed, been a scorpion. In his 5 years at the school, this was the first he'd heard of one in a house. He immediately sent me home with two workers from the school to search the house. They didn't find anything either. And so far....there haven't been any other of the nasty little visitors. But I'm always on the lookout, now!
My house is coming together. This particular house has not been used by the school for some time, so the basic furniture really was/is quite basic. I think the other teacher houses are better because they've been used regularly and likely have had things left behind by others, so furnishings are more complete. I have had some additional start-up costs buying a few things to make the house more comfortable and organised ....like some shelf units for the bathroom, some small mats for the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, some drapes that actually provide some opaque privacy and/or aren't torn, some accent cushions and a carpet to cut down on the echoes in the empty-ish room. All of these things are so expensive, particularly since there are limited shopping resources--in fact, there is only one (1) reasonable home furnishings/decor store in town for anything that is relatively 'nice'. And it's waaaay across town.... Good thing we have the use of the school vans and drivers for this month!
I continue to butcher the French language here! So many words and conjugations lost in the language files..... It will come, but right now, I find it takes a lot of energy to be thinking/speaking in another language so much. Some words are pronounced much differently here, too, so that only adds to the confusion. The other day I bought some fruit at a stall and the gal told me it was dey mille francs.....I didn't understand.....2? thousand....10? thousand...a new number?.....turned out it was deux (2).... Now I know.
AND...to top that all off....it's a VERY good idea to learn a little Bambara, the local language. We had one lesson with some very basic greetings as an introduction, with the option to continue lessons later. But only if one has one's head well above the water.....
We've had lots of meetings at school, getting to know all of the staff, procedures and curriculum. I, for one, am on overload from all of the information and events, and am not even close to feeling prepared for the first week of school! We have one more staff day on Monday, then the students start on Tuesday!
Having been out of the classroom proper for 12 years (except for a couple short stints in Vientiane), I feel overwhelmed at all that I must consider and plan for Art and Drama/Theatre. The beforehand excitement of this adventure has become a weighty load of reality and confusion. Nonetheless......I will figure it all out. I will have to! I have a feeling there will be some long days and nights for a while until I get on top of the planning.....
We ended our week at the Mande Hotel for drinks and sunset over the Niger River.
Saturday was a bit of grocery shopping and then plant shopping. The plant shopping was an experience. There's a big boulevard downtown where there are numerous nursery stalls. It seemed pretty complicated figuring out what was bought from whose stall, and who to ask for the total.....but it all worked out fine in the end. I bought some small spider and philodendron plants for the classroom and a few plants for the garden....a pink hibiscus, a jasmine bush, a dark pink bougainvillea and a purpleheart creeper (some of my favourite plants!).
My neighbour, Attie (from Holland), and I took a short walk around the neighbourhood Saturday afternoon. We're not far from the river and one of the bridges. There seems to be the beginnings of a park area along the river and there was a lovely breeze as we walked along there. There will be pictures later. We only went out with our house keys and a few francs in our pockets. We wanted to see the neighbourhood and let the neighbourhood see us.....as regular, friendly folk. Eventually, we hope that there will be more comfort and safety for us to walk about. As it is now, we are directed to walk with someone at all times if we are out and about....just to be on the safe side. There haven't been any problems, so it is definitely a precaution.
When we came back to the house, we introduced ourselves to our Chinese neighbour.....who runs a private restaurant out of her house. There were a couple of UN guys just leaving (who thankfully spoke English and Chinese) so we were able to ask about going in to eat. We tried to order a noodle soup with fish, but we got stir-fried noodles with fried fish. It was good, so we'll probably try it again another time. Super convenient!
I've added a few more photos to the Picasa album
Now....back to that planning....
On the household front, the school has been great at making sure that any repairs or work that need to be done in our homes are done promptly, so all light switches, fans, A/C's, windows, doors and locks are all now in good working order. I asked to have all the sliding screen inserts screwed in place so Nooks couldn't accidentally (perhaps in a frenzy to get at a bird outside the window) move the not-so-secure screen and escape.
I've put in a work request to have both the front patio and back patio screened in, too.... that's for me to sit out in the morning/evenings without mosquito worries and for Nooks to be 'outside' the house a bit, too. The whole house is surrounded by a high wall, but there are a couple of places in the back and in the front where trees or bushes would provide an escape over the top....so....eventually....but not for a while....and only after I figure out how to limit the climbing height.....Nooks will be able to go outside, under very close supervision.
Nooks has met the housekeeper, Saran, on Saturday, and even ventured out from under the bed a few times on her own. She spends a lot of time under the bed. :-( She's still pretty freaked out by the noises from the upstairs apartment and from the guards in the yard. I hope she'll get somewhat used to them.
There are lots of animals in the yard. Some small red-headed finches with white eye circles, lots of small and medium sized lizards of varying colours, and big geckoes. I'll have to find some time to just sit out and photograph them all.
I've seen some lizards with bright yellow heads and tails and some intense blue birds and a couple of red parrots on drives to and from school, too.
The most interesting and disturbing critter was the one Nooks was playing with last Sunday night in the bedroom.....I thought she'd gotten a little gecko, but it didn't look quite right..... When I got closer, I saw that it was a little (about 2" long) scorpion! Freak me right out. I got Nooks away from it and it headed under the frame to my closet. Lovely. Fortunately, it couldn't get through and couldn't fully hide in the little crack. I managed to pull it out with a paper towel and do away with it. Then I was all creeped out and figured that if there was one there must be more. It seemed like it was a baby so I was concerned that there was a nest of them somewhere..! I looked in and under and behind everything in the house with the flashlight, but didn't find any others. When I mentioned it to the facilities manager the next day, he thought for sure I meant something else and was very surprised to learn that it had, indeed, been a scorpion. In his 5 years at the school, this was the first he'd heard of one in a house. He immediately sent me home with two workers from the school to search the house. They didn't find anything either. And so far....there haven't been any other of the nasty little visitors. But I'm always on the lookout, now!
My house is coming together. This particular house has not been used by the school for some time, so the basic furniture really was/is quite basic. I think the other teacher houses are better because they've been used regularly and likely have had things left behind by others, so furnishings are more complete. I have had some additional start-up costs buying a few things to make the house more comfortable and organised ....like some shelf units for the bathroom, some small mats for the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, some drapes that actually provide some opaque privacy and/or aren't torn, some accent cushions and a carpet to cut down on the echoes in the empty-ish room. All of these things are so expensive, particularly since there are limited shopping resources--in fact, there is only one (1) reasonable home furnishings/decor store in town for anything that is relatively 'nice'. And it's waaaay across town.... Good thing we have the use of the school vans and drivers for this month!
I continue to butcher the French language here! So many words and conjugations lost in the language files..... It will come, but right now, I find it takes a lot of energy to be thinking/speaking in another language so much. Some words are pronounced much differently here, too, so that only adds to the confusion. The other day I bought some fruit at a stall and the gal told me it was dey mille francs.....I didn't understand.....2? thousand....10? thousand...a new number?.....turned out it was deux (2).... Now I know.
AND...to top that all off....it's a VERY good idea to learn a little Bambara, the local language. We had one lesson with some very basic greetings as an introduction, with the option to continue lessons later. But only if one has one's head well above the water.....
We've had lots of meetings at school, getting to know all of the staff, procedures and curriculum. I, for one, am on overload from all of the information and events, and am not even close to feeling prepared for the first week of school! We have one more staff day on Monday, then the students start on Tuesday!
Having been out of the classroom proper for 12 years (except for a couple short stints in Vientiane), I feel overwhelmed at all that I must consider and plan for Art and Drama/Theatre. The beforehand excitement of this adventure has become a weighty load of reality and confusion. Nonetheless......I will figure it all out. I will have to! I have a feeling there will be some long days and nights for a while until I get on top of the planning.....
We ended our week at the Mande Hotel for drinks and sunset over the Niger River.
Saturday was a bit of grocery shopping and then plant shopping. The plant shopping was an experience. There's a big boulevard downtown where there are numerous nursery stalls. It seemed pretty complicated figuring out what was bought from whose stall, and who to ask for the total.....but it all worked out fine in the end. I bought some small spider and philodendron plants for the classroom and a few plants for the garden....a pink hibiscus, a jasmine bush, a dark pink bougainvillea and a purpleheart creeper (some of my favourite plants!).
My neighbour, Attie (from Holland), and I took a short walk around the neighbourhood Saturday afternoon. We're not far from the river and one of the bridges. There seems to be the beginnings of a park area along the river and there was a lovely breeze as we walked along there. There will be pictures later. We only went out with our house keys and a few francs in our pockets. We wanted to see the neighbourhood and let the neighbourhood see us.....as regular, friendly folk. Eventually, we hope that there will be more comfort and safety for us to walk about. As it is now, we are directed to walk with someone at all times if we are out and about....just to be on the safe side. There haven't been any problems, so it is definitely a precaution.
When we came back to the house, we introduced ourselves to our Chinese neighbour.....who runs a private restaurant out of her house. There were a couple of UN guys just leaving (who thankfully spoke English and Chinese) so we were able to ask about going in to eat. We tried to order a noodle soup with fish, but we got stir-fried noodles with fried fish. It was good, so we'll probably try it again another time. Super convenient!
I've added a few more photos to the Picasa album
Now....back to that planning....
Friday, 7 August 2015
Journey Without - Exploring Bamako
We went to the Grand Marche today....the Grand Market.
O.
M.
G.
Bigger and crazier and more crowded than any indoor/outdoor market I've ever been in in Southeast Asia. It's huge. Part of the market is indoors, but mostly it is just blocks and blocks of stalls and narrow passageways.
I've added a few more photos on the Picasa site....plus a short video to give you a taste of the insanity. I didn't get anything that I wanted to (fabric for some curtains, plus a few household and hardware items). Just too hard to seek out certain things in a group. Our group managed to be lead into a shop of some great traditional Dogon fabrics and I think most of us bought something. Captive audience of white folks.
Probably the most interesting/bizarre stalls were the ones selling various dried up animal heads and skins for voodoo/magic. (no picture of THAT one, sorry).
We were in the maze for a couple of hours and that was MORE than enough. It definitely sucks your energy. Unfortunately at the end, we were trailed by a couple of overly persistent vendors wanting to sell us jewellery and ornaments. Oy. Seriously. I. don't. want. it.
And having said all of that.....I will go back another day, with a driver and maybe with the gal who knows the good fabric stalls, but only do that small part of the market.
Today after the market, I moved furniture around for a better distribution and feel. Still some cabinets to shift. Not happy with where they are.... Wishing my shipment was here already, but it will still be another month. Sigh.
I will take some indoor pictures tomorrow.
O.
M.
G.
Bigger and crazier and more crowded than any indoor/outdoor market I've ever been in in Southeast Asia. It's huge. Part of the market is indoors, but mostly it is just blocks and blocks of stalls and narrow passageways.
I've added a few more photos on the Picasa site....plus a short video to give you a taste of the insanity. I didn't get anything that I wanted to (fabric for some curtains, plus a few household and hardware items). Just too hard to seek out certain things in a group. Our group managed to be lead into a shop of some great traditional Dogon fabrics and I think most of us bought something. Captive audience of white folks.
Probably the most interesting/bizarre stalls were the ones selling various dried up animal heads and skins for voodoo/magic. (no picture of THAT one, sorry).
We were in the maze for a couple of hours and that was MORE than enough. It definitely sucks your energy. Unfortunately at the end, we were trailed by a couple of overly persistent vendors wanting to sell us jewellery and ornaments. Oy. Seriously. I. don't. want. it.
And having said all of that.....I will go back another day, with a driver and maybe with the gal who knows the good fabric stalls, but only do that small part of the market.
Today after the market, I moved furniture around for a better distribution and feel. Still some cabinets to shift. Not happy with where they are.... Wishing my shipment was here already, but it will still be another month. Sigh.
I will take some indoor pictures tomorrow.
Sunday, 2 August 2015
Journey Without - From Malaysia to Mali
Well.....it was a long trip!
Plus I was stressed about checking in all the bags in KL. Melissa, my vet friend, and her mum, came out to the airport to help me with my two trolleys of bags and to generally see me off. So sweet!
Actually, I think the trip was about the same amount of time as flying to Canada from KL, just more stress trying to deal with Nooks. At Schiphol, I found a great bathroom with floor to ceiling walls and door, so no escape.....but all others I came across were open at the bottom, so Nooks didn't get so much out-of-the-carrier time. Used the baby change room a couple of times and a handicapped toilet once to let her out, see if she would drink some water or eat some food, or use the makeshift cat box. Man...did I get dirtly looks coming out of the baby change rooms without a baby in tow. Nooks was really good until about half way through the last leg....5 hour flight from Paris to Bamako...and got really restless, trying to get out of her carrier. Once I put the carrier on my lap, she settled down so that's pretty much where she was for the last flight. She did not eat, drink or pee until we got 'home' about an hour ago. Amazing. Mostly she is exploring the house (yes!! I got a house instead of an apartment! yay! with a couple of lovely patio spaces...that I think I share with the woman who lives upstairs...). Looking forward to seeing the house and yard in the daylight. I set up Nooks' scratching post right away so that there was something very familiar for her. (She had her own suitcase with the fancy scratch post, cat box, bags of food and kitty treats, toys, vitamins...and a few of my things, too!
Our director, Brad, and his wife, Renee, met all of us newbies at the airport to help us with our visas and immigration forms, and collecting luggage.
Small little airport with what seemed like thousands of people in it, lined up at immigration, waiting for visas, waiting for luggage on the carousel, then waiting to have baggage tags checked against the bags before leaving. I wanted to take a picture of it but my phone battery died earlier in the day, and my camera was tucked away. I'm sure I'll get another chance for something similar....it seems like it was a pretty normal state.
Anyway...considering the appearance of chaos, it all went quite smoothly and all 9 of us (and 4 kids) even had all of our luggage arrive. Mountains of it. Including my 7 (yes, seven) large suitcases. We were out of the airport in about 2 hours. Then it took about an hour and a half to deliver us all to our respective homes.
Such an amazing welcome! First of all, having the director and his wife meeting us at the airport and delivering us to our homes. Then...the fridges are stocked with some basic starter foods....fruits, bread, cheese, eggs, butter, milk, juice...plus there's coffee, tissues, toilet paper, soap and bug spray. And each house had a bottle of wine waiting. Brad even brought along his corkscrew so that he could open our bottles for us. My kind of people!
The houses are already set up with internet/wi-fi and each of us received a cell phone (that we will have to set up).
Pics will come. I'm only unpacking bare necessities tonight. The whole enchilada will be done tomorrow. I have a 3 bedroom house (so open for visitors!!), with a living room, dining room and kitchen. It certainly is not as beautiful a house, nor is the furniture as well-made as my KL house....or even my Vientiane house, but it does have a third-world charm about it, and I will do lots to make it better, too!
We have received a schedule for the upcoming week....some school orientation, finalisation of visas, shipping/baggage reimbursements, other admin, shopping, dinners each night (courtesy of the school or Brad) and a couple of recreational outings to a park and a resort. Now that's the way to look after incoming staff!!
And now, methinks it's time for bed. It's 2 a.m. and we have a 10 o'clock pick-up to start the day! I'll have my camera with me tomorrow to start the photo journal!
Plus I was stressed about checking in all the bags in KL. Melissa, my vet friend, and her mum, came out to the airport to help me with my two trolleys of bags and to generally see me off. So sweet!
Actually, I think the trip was about the same amount of time as flying to Canada from KL, just more stress trying to deal with Nooks. At Schiphol, I found a great bathroom with floor to ceiling walls and door, so no escape.....but all others I came across were open at the bottom, so Nooks didn't get so much out-of-the-carrier time. Used the baby change room a couple of times and a handicapped toilet once to let her out, see if she would drink some water or eat some food, or use the makeshift cat box. Man...did I get dirtly looks coming out of the baby change rooms without a baby in tow. Nooks was really good until about half way through the last leg....5 hour flight from Paris to Bamako...and got really restless, trying to get out of her carrier. Once I put the carrier on my lap, she settled down so that's pretty much where she was for the last flight. She did not eat, drink or pee until we got 'home' about an hour ago. Amazing. Mostly she is exploring the house (yes!! I got a house instead of an apartment! yay! with a couple of lovely patio spaces...that I think I share with the woman who lives upstairs...). Looking forward to seeing the house and yard in the daylight. I set up Nooks' scratching post right away so that there was something very familiar for her. (She had her own suitcase with the fancy scratch post, cat box, bags of food and kitty treats, toys, vitamins...and a few of my things, too!
Our director, Brad, and his wife, Renee, met all of us newbies at the airport to help us with our visas and immigration forms, and collecting luggage.
Small little airport with what seemed like thousands of people in it, lined up at immigration, waiting for visas, waiting for luggage on the carousel, then waiting to have baggage tags checked against the bags before leaving. I wanted to take a picture of it but my phone battery died earlier in the day, and my camera was tucked away. I'm sure I'll get another chance for something similar....it seems like it was a pretty normal state.
Anyway...considering the appearance of chaos, it all went quite smoothly and all 9 of us (and 4 kids) even had all of our luggage arrive. Mountains of it. Including my 7 (yes, seven) large suitcases. We were out of the airport in about 2 hours. Then it took about an hour and a half to deliver us all to our respective homes.
Such an amazing welcome! First of all, having the director and his wife meeting us at the airport and delivering us to our homes. Then...the fridges are stocked with some basic starter foods....fruits, bread, cheese, eggs, butter, milk, juice...plus there's coffee, tissues, toilet paper, soap and bug spray. And each house had a bottle of wine waiting. Brad even brought along his corkscrew so that he could open our bottles for us. My kind of people!
The houses are already set up with internet/wi-fi and each of us received a cell phone (that we will have to set up).
Pics will come. I'm only unpacking bare necessities tonight. The whole enchilada will be done tomorrow. I have a 3 bedroom house (so open for visitors!!), with a living room, dining room and kitchen. It certainly is not as beautiful a house, nor is the furniture as well-made as my KL house....or even my Vientiane house, but it does have a third-world charm about it, and I will do lots to make it better, too!
We have received a schedule for the upcoming week....some school orientation, finalisation of visas, shipping/baggage reimbursements, other admin, shopping, dinners each night (courtesy of the school or Brad) and a couple of recreational outings to a park and a resort. Now that's the way to look after incoming staff!!
And now, methinks it's time for bed. It's 2 a.m. and we have a 10 o'clock pick-up to start the day! I'll have my camera with me tomorrow to start the photo journal!
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Journey Within - A Mighty Case of Mites
Another lesson from my vines.
What you can’t see in the first photo is that the vine is severely infested with spider mites.
Nasty life-sucking parasites that can bring total destruction and devastation to the green life that continues to grow despite the insidious danger.
So while I’m spraying down every inch of my creeper with a soapy solution to eradicate the nasties, I am once again struck with the similarity that the infestation has to our lives.
The mites are all those negative emotions, the negative self-talk, the destructive behaviours that we have. If not eliminated, or at the very least, held in check, they will destroy us mentally, physically, emotionally and/or spiritually.
We all have mites.
Okay, maybe not ALL of us….but I’d say a LOT of us.
Nasty, niggling, self-doubts. Judgments. Despair. Unworthiness. Low self-esteem. Fear. Hopelessness. Apathy. Worry.
Shall I go on?
These are only a few of my own life-sucking mites.
It seems I am forever off and on a journey of self-discovery and healing and spiritual growth. I am still learning, and am far from knowing all the answers!
Sometimes, when I’ve been off the path for too long, I come to a realisation that, in the meantime, I have developed a severe infestation of negative mites. (Actually, sometimes that’s the reason I stray. It’s denial and lack of desire or strength to face them.)
The sheer number of them can often be overwhelming. And while it is MUCH easier to ignore them, or deal with them ‘later’, the fact remains that they will continue to get stronger or increase, if left unchecked, or unexamined, and recovery will be more difficult.
The mites on my vine suck the life-blood of the plant and cause it to shrivel and wither, and eventually die.
Negative thoughts and emotions will do the same to us by sucking our life-blood of joy and happiness from us.
For me, I have to be constantly vigilant with the creeper. I staved off an infestation a few weeks ago, and then thought all was well, and forgot to check daily. Before I knew it, the mites were back and with a vengeance.
In my life, I have to be equally vigilant. Spiritual and emotional growth takes work. Sometimes it’s really hard work. It is definitely constant work. Something I must remember as I work on facing, acknowledging and then eliminating the negative mites from my life.
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Journey Within -- A Little Bit Dead
There are some generally agreed upon conditions in life that are quite black and white.
You can’t be ‘a little bit pregnant’ for example. You are or you aren’t.
Or, you can’t be ‘a little bit dead’.
But my garden is teaching me otherwise regarding death. And life for that matter.
I have a lovely creeper along my back fence. It fills in the chain-link and provides some privacy for me and for my neighbour whose kitchen windows are just a walkway from my fence and about the same distance again from my own windows.
From time to time, I have to cut the creeper back because it grows quite voraciously. I also have to pull out the dead and dried stems as parts of the plant die off.
What I’ve discovered is that sometimes I will remove a dead stem, only to find that it was dead between two living parts. And sadly, removing the dead bit causes at least one of the live stems to wither and die, as the tenuous connection to its life source has been severed.
It’s a bit of a marvel that this can happen. That my plant is, in fact, ‘a little bit dead’.
And yet the dead parts are not hindering growth. They are helping to accommodate it, or at the very least, helping to maintain it.
So every time I trim the vines, I am careful to remove the truly dead and useless bits, and only those, so that I don’t destroy any connected parts that are alive.
And every time I trim the vines, I think about how it is a little bit dead. And how we, in our own lives, can sometimes (or always) also be a little bit dead.
With my own recent experiences, the death of a loved one springs to mind as an example, as this is a recent experience. I’m sure there are others...loss of a pet, traumatic event…
(What are yours?)
We lose someone we dearly love, who has been an integral part of our lives, and suddenly, the reality is that they are gone.
A void is left.
An emptiness.
A bit of us dies with them.
And yet, we don’t die.
We continue to live, even though we have that little bit of deadness in ourselves.
True, it may slow us down, even stop us sometimes, but in the end, we continue to live, with it and around it.
The event and the change and the dead bit contribute to our growth, and without it, we would be quite different. So we don’t want to cut it out, but rather acknowledge it, and the role it plays in shaping us. But we do not want to dwell on it. Focus on the good it teaches and the direction is has given to our lives.
I feel a little bit dead for a number of reasons and events in my life, but I am not dead. I push on and continue to live and grow because of…and yes…in spite of….the dead bits. Like the creeper, we can thrive despite being ‘a little bit dead’.
You can’t be ‘a little bit pregnant’ for example. You are or you aren’t.
Or, you can’t be ‘a little bit dead’.
But my garden is teaching me otherwise regarding death. And life for that matter.
I have a lovely creeper along my back fence. It fills in the chain-link and provides some privacy for me and for my neighbour whose kitchen windows are just a walkway from my fence and about the same distance again from my own windows.
From time to time, I have to cut the creeper back because it grows quite voraciously. I also have to pull out the dead and dried stems as parts of the plant die off.
What I’ve discovered is that sometimes I will remove a dead stem, only to find that it was dead between two living parts. And sadly, removing the dead bit causes at least one of the live stems to wither and die, as the tenuous connection to its life source has been severed.
It’s a bit of a marvel that this can happen. That my plant is, in fact, ‘a little bit dead’.
And yet the dead parts are not hindering growth. They are helping to accommodate it, or at the very least, helping to maintain it.
So every time I trim the vines, I am careful to remove the truly dead and useless bits, and only those, so that I don’t destroy any connected parts that are alive.
And every time I trim the vines, I think about how it is a little bit dead. And how we, in our own lives, can sometimes (or always) also be a little bit dead.
With my own recent experiences, the death of a loved one springs to mind as an example, as this is a recent experience. I’m sure there are others...loss of a pet, traumatic event…
(What are yours?)
We lose someone we dearly love, who has been an integral part of our lives, and suddenly, the reality is that they are gone.
A void is left.
An emptiness.
A bit of us dies with them.
And yet, we don’t die.
We continue to live, even though we have that little bit of deadness in ourselves.
True, it may slow us down, even stop us sometimes, but in the end, we continue to live, with it and around it.
The event and the change and the dead bit contribute to our growth, and without it, we would be quite different. So we don’t want to cut it out, but rather acknowledge it, and the role it plays in shaping us. But we do not want to dwell on it. Focus on the good it teaches and the direction is has given to our lives.
I feel a little bit dead for a number of reasons and events in my life, but I am not dead. I push on and continue to live and grow because of…and yes…in spite of….the dead bits. Like the creeper, we can thrive despite being ‘a little bit dead’.
Saturday, 21 March 2015
Journey Without - Mexico Dance Retreat
Last year I stumbled onto a pdf poster for the Mexico Dance Retreat. It sounded amazing so I tracked down the organiser so that I could be on the mailing list for info on the 2015 retreat. Of course, somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I might be living in Canada again by that time. That would make the trip a bit easier to justify. But that was not the case.
In November I started looking into flights from KL and found that they were too expensive and/or too long. I couldn't justify it. But the thought of the retreat would not go away....so in January I looked at flights again and found cheaper and shorter ones. Somewhat easier to accept. So I booked tickets!
The Retreat
The retreat was held at the Monasterio Benedictino in Ahuatepec, near Cuernavaca south of Mexico City from Feb 21 to March 1. There were about 100 people there, men included, to learn folk and sacred circle dances. Our instructors came from the US (Steve and Suzy Kotansky), Canada (Yves and France Moreau) and Brazil (Cristiana Menezes).....all with different styles and very different dances....and we had about 8 hours of classes with them each day!
Classes were held in a tent on a field, although sometimes towards the end of the afternoon, we moved to a space outside, and evenings we took over the dining hall.
There were a few points during the week when my brain just couldn't comprehend even some simple steps for dances, so I knew that I just had to step away from the circle and take a break.
Mornings started in the open with Paneurhythmy....slow, symbolic, meditative dance. It was a lovely way to start the day. There were more than a few tears being shed on the last morning when we realised that was our last Paneurhythmy together.
Each day ended with a Baile....or party....from 10 until late to simply dance old and new favourites. To be honest....I only made it to one of these and only lasted until just after 11 pm. I was too tired from the long intense day!
We had a couple of days during the week for excursions and breaks. One day I went with a group into the nearby town of Tepotzlan for market day. Snooped around the market and shops on the main streets, had some chicken fajitas and a margarita for lunch, ice cream for dessert and then back to the monastery. Some people made the strenuous climb to the top of the mountain to see a small ancient pyramid that had been constructed there and to get a great view. I decided that knees and ankles might be happier NOT making that trek, and I would prefer to injure them dancing, rather than hiking! Reports from some were that it was a tougher climb than they had expected....and they were younger and more fit! Someone did hurt themselves on the climb and spent the rest of the week with a bandaged foot and ankle, unable to dance. That would have been heartbreaking!
Xochicalco
The other day 'off' we had a choice of going to a river park or seeing some pyramids. I chose the pyramids at Xochicalco (Sho-chee-cal-co), an ancient civilisation built on hilltops about an hour away from Cuernavaca. It is a huge complex and it sounds like only about 10% of the entire city has been excavated.....much more work to do, but no funding.
Xochicalco was a centre for astronomy and apparently held a huge conference of all astronomers in its day. In the civic square, there is a pillar with some astronomical calculations and dates on it. There is also a small indentation carved out for the astronomer's head to rest in when he was seated at the pillar, looking to see the sunrise on the equinoxes or solstices through different points on the building opposite the pillar.
Our group of twelve danced a sacred circle dance around the pillar and our guide even joined in!
The square and the buildings around it have been constructed in such a way that the acoustics are much like an amphitheatre, so that the governor could easily make speeches from his pyramid on the square.
There is a temple to Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god. In many of the ancient cultures, duality is very important and the snake was considered the best representation of this. Its tongue is forked. It lives on land and in the water. It goes from old to new by shedding its skin. It lives in hot and in cold......
BUT, the snake is not a particularly attractive creature, so it was 'decorated' with feathers to make it more beautiful!
There is a special Observatory in the city, too. A small hole in the roof allows sunlight to enter into a chamber below and it comes down in a ray of light during a certain time frame of about 104 days, coinciding with planting and harvesting. The astronomers would be able to 'read' the light and its path to determine events and activities. The other 260 days of the year, the chamber is in darkness or has very diffused light coming in. This time of darkness is compared to the time in the womb....a very cool concept. Since we were too early in the year for the bright ray of light, we only saw the eerie diffused light coming in....still fascinating, though!
Xochicalco has several playing fields for the ancient ball game that was played (it has different names...), using a rubber ball that weighed between 6 and 9 pounds, and could only be moved up and down the field with the forearms, thighs and hips. Some accounts for other locations show that the game was also played with sticks, but not here. Occasionally, someone would manage to get the ball through the stone hoop that was placed on the wall several meters above the field! Imagine tossing a bowling ball with your forearms or hips 2 storeys up.....AND getting it through a hole only slightly larger than the ball itself! Sometimes the game was played purely for recreation and fun, but it was also played as a means for volunteers to determine how they would be sacrificed. Winners of these games had the honour of having their hearts cut out and offered to the gods. Losers had their heads chopped off.
Some game.
After the retreat, I headed up to Yucatan for a few days in Progresso. I made the special side trip to meet with a realtor that I'd been in contact with and who was going to set up some viewings for me in nearby Chelem and Chuburna. Unfortunately, and very disappointingly, she waited until after I had arrived to tell me that she wouldn't show me any places because I wasn't in a position to buy right then and there, and showing places 'on spec' wasn't appropriate or fair to her sellers. Say what?? Never mind that she mislead me to believe that I could see and get a feel for some places.... How appropriate was that? She knew before I booked my tickets that I wasn't in a buying position and only coming to look. Had she informed me of her new position beforehand, I might have made different plans.
I am hoping that Karma will catch up with the realtor real soon....
At any rate, I had a relaxing time in Progresso wandering about and swimming in the ocean. Stopped in at a local bar for lunch one day for some fajitas and beer. I used some of the habanero hot sauce, expecting it to be devastatingly hot, but it wasn't. I asked the waiter about it and he was impressed that I didn't find it too hot. He came back with thinly sliced and diced habaneros in lime juice and salt for me to try on toritillas. Delicious! Progresso is a cruise ship tourist town and there was a definite difference in the feel and the action of the place with and without a cruise ship in port.
Teothihuacan
At either end of my trip, I had a day in Mexico City. The first day, I booked a tour to Teothihuacan (tay-oh-tee-WHA-can) to see the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon.
I climbed them both.....many high stone steps.....many short breaks to catch breath on the 248 steps of the Pyramid of the Sun! Amazing structures and a huge complex. Some of the buildings had well or partially preserved frescoes and carvings, but not all. Much was destroyed by internal conflict in the city. As with many of the ancient cultures in Mexico, human sacrifice was essential to ensure that the sun would rise and that life would continue. For some there was no choice, but for others, it was an honour to give one's life so that life could continue for those left behind. Excavated chambers beneath the Citadel at Teothihuacan housed sacrificed victims or volunteers...maybe volunteers as they seem to have been dressed as warriors.
We stopped at a rock carving factory at a village just before the pyramids. Statues are carved out of obsidian and inlaid with lapis lazuli, tiger eye, malachite, shell, jade and all kinds of other wonderful semi-precious gems that are found in the area. While we were there, we learned about the multiple uses for agave...besides tequila! Paper can be made from the branches and each branch has a spiky tip connected to fibers that can be used as a needle and thread. We got to taste several tequilas, pulque (a fermented cactus juice...bordering on beer) and some pear cactus liqueurs. Learned that it is Mescal that has the worm in the bottle...not tequila...and that to Mexicans, the national drink is pulque!
Part of this tour included a visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadelupe (the Virgin Mary). Apparently, a poor man, Juan Diego, in the 1500's saw and spoke with a vision of Mary on a hill. The bishop demanded proof and Mary sent Juan back with roses from the hill....where previously there had never been any.....and a miraculous image of her appeared on his cloak, which is now on display in the new Basilica behind the altar. People-mover conveyor belts were installed in front of the cloak so that people would not stop and stay! You have to snap your photos quickly.....or take several rides back and forth to get the best shot!
Here's more to the story if you're interested:
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2614-our-lady-of-guadalupe-tonantzin-or-the-virgin-mary
Cultural Day
On my other day in Mexico City, I went to the Museum of Anthropology and History to learn more about the ancient cultures. I had been told by a fellow dancer that there was a lot of information in English, but mostly it was in Spanish.....so I didn't get as much info as I was hoping. Still....it was amazing to see the artifacts and read whatever there was in English! It is a huge museum and I only saw a few of the rooms on the main floor....the introduction to anthropology, Teotihuacan, Aztec and Mayan rooms. And that was more than enough for one day.
In the evening, I went to the Ballets Folkloricos, a presentation of folkloric dances. Fabulous costumes.....and the skirts....2- or 3-circle skirts that whirled and flowed....in white and stunning colours.....gorgeous!
I went early by subway, since there was a station right near the hotel and one right near the theatre....and it was cheap....5 pesos to wherever no matter how many stops (about 40 cents). An experience. Not very clean. Not as much signage or maps as I would have liked in the stations.....and there were NO line maps in the cars. (I was happy to have sort of memorized the stops and transfer points from my internet search earlier!)
And VERY crowded. At one point I managed to squeeze off the train to wait for the next one because there were just too many bodies squished too tightly together and too many hands needing or finding places to go. Eww... Decided that I would NOT take the subway back to the hotel. Taxi at any cost would be much better.
The Ballets performed in a beautiful building...very ornate and classical on the outside, but more art deco on the inside. Stunning stained glass ceiling in the theatre itself depicting the muses, I believe.... Music was provided by a mariachi band complete with a couple of harps!
Although it was a crazy trip to make, I LOVED being at the retreat and dancing, dancing, dancing. Being with all the other dancers and new-age people was like finding my tribe...at least one of them! It was fabulous and I would certainly go again! Plus Mexico is a physically and culturally colourful place to visit!
In November I started looking into flights from KL and found that they were too expensive and/or too long. I couldn't justify it. But the thought of the retreat would not go away....so in January I looked at flights again and found cheaper and shorter ones. Somewhat easier to accept. So I booked tickets!
The Retreat
The retreat was held at the Monasterio Benedictino in Ahuatepec, near Cuernavaca south of Mexico City from Feb 21 to March 1. There were about 100 people there, men included, to learn folk and sacred circle dances. Our instructors came from the US (Steve and Suzy Kotansky), Canada (Yves and France Moreau) and Brazil (Cristiana Menezes).....all with different styles and very different dances....and we had about 8 hours of classes with them each day!
Classes were held in a tent on a field, although sometimes towards the end of the afternoon, we moved to a space outside, and evenings we took over the dining hall.
There were a few points during the week when my brain just couldn't comprehend even some simple steps for dances, so I knew that I just had to step away from the circle and take a break.
Mornings started in the open with Paneurhythmy....slow, symbolic, meditative dance. It was a lovely way to start the day. There were more than a few tears being shed on the last morning when we realised that was our last Paneurhythmy together.
Each day ended with a Baile....or party....from 10 until late to simply dance old and new favourites. To be honest....I only made it to one of these and only lasted until just after 11 pm. I was too tired from the long intense day!
We had a couple of days during the week for excursions and breaks. One day I went with a group into the nearby town of Tepotzlan for market day. Snooped around the market and shops on the main streets, had some chicken fajitas and a margarita for lunch, ice cream for dessert and then back to the monastery. Some people made the strenuous climb to the top of the mountain to see a small ancient pyramid that had been constructed there and to get a great view. I decided that knees and ankles might be happier NOT making that trek, and I would prefer to injure them dancing, rather than hiking! Reports from some were that it was a tougher climb than they had expected....and they were younger and more fit! Someone did hurt themselves on the climb and spent the rest of the week with a bandaged foot and ankle, unable to dance. That would have been heartbreaking!
Xochicalco
The other day 'off' we had a choice of going to a river park or seeing some pyramids. I chose the pyramids at Xochicalco (Sho-chee-cal-co), an ancient civilisation built on hilltops about an hour away from Cuernavaca. It is a huge complex and it sounds like only about 10% of the entire city has been excavated.....much more work to do, but no funding.
Xochicalco was a centre for astronomy and apparently held a huge conference of all astronomers in its day. In the civic square, there is a pillar with some astronomical calculations and dates on it. There is also a small indentation carved out for the astronomer's head to rest in when he was seated at the pillar, looking to see the sunrise on the equinoxes or solstices through different points on the building opposite the pillar.
Our group of twelve danced a sacred circle dance around the pillar and our guide even joined in!
The square and the buildings around it have been constructed in such a way that the acoustics are much like an amphitheatre, so that the governor could easily make speeches from his pyramid on the square.
There is a temple to Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god. In many of the ancient cultures, duality is very important and the snake was considered the best representation of this. Its tongue is forked. It lives on land and in the water. It goes from old to new by shedding its skin. It lives in hot and in cold......
BUT, the snake is not a particularly attractive creature, so it was 'decorated' with feathers to make it more beautiful!
There is a special Observatory in the city, too. A small hole in the roof allows sunlight to enter into a chamber below and it comes down in a ray of light during a certain time frame of about 104 days, coinciding with planting and harvesting. The astronomers would be able to 'read' the light and its path to determine events and activities. The other 260 days of the year, the chamber is in darkness or has very diffused light coming in. This time of darkness is compared to the time in the womb....a very cool concept. Since we were too early in the year for the bright ray of light, we only saw the eerie diffused light coming in....still fascinating, though!
Xochicalco has several playing fields for the ancient ball game that was played (it has different names...), using a rubber ball that weighed between 6 and 9 pounds, and could only be moved up and down the field with the forearms, thighs and hips. Some accounts for other locations show that the game was also played with sticks, but not here. Occasionally, someone would manage to get the ball through the stone hoop that was placed on the wall several meters above the field! Imagine tossing a bowling ball with your forearms or hips 2 storeys up.....AND getting it through a hole only slightly larger than the ball itself! Sometimes the game was played purely for recreation and fun, but it was also played as a means for volunteers to determine how they would be sacrificed. Winners of these games had the honour of having their hearts cut out and offered to the gods. Losers had their heads chopped off.
Some game.
After the retreat, I headed up to Yucatan for a few days in Progresso. I made the special side trip to meet with a realtor that I'd been in contact with and who was going to set up some viewings for me in nearby Chelem and Chuburna. Unfortunately, and very disappointingly, she waited until after I had arrived to tell me that she wouldn't show me any places because I wasn't in a position to buy right then and there, and showing places 'on spec' wasn't appropriate or fair to her sellers. Say what?? Never mind that she mislead me to believe that I could see and get a feel for some places.... How appropriate was that? She knew before I booked my tickets that I wasn't in a buying position and only coming to look. Had she informed me of her new position beforehand, I might have made different plans.
I am hoping that Karma will catch up with the realtor real soon....
At any rate, I had a relaxing time in Progresso wandering about and swimming in the ocean. Stopped in at a local bar for lunch one day for some fajitas and beer. I used some of the habanero hot sauce, expecting it to be devastatingly hot, but it wasn't. I asked the waiter about it and he was impressed that I didn't find it too hot. He came back with thinly sliced and diced habaneros in lime juice and salt for me to try on toritillas. Delicious! Progresso is a cruise ship tourist town and there was a definite difference in the feel and the action of the place with and without a cruise ship in port.
Teothihuacan
At either end of my trip, I had a day in Mexico City. The first day, I booked a tour to Teothihuacan (tay-oh-tee-WHA-can) to see the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon.
I climbed them both.....many high stone steps.....many short breaks to catch breath on the 248 steps of the Pyramid of the Sun! Amazing structures and a huge complex. Some of the buildings had well or partially preserved frescoes and carvings, but not all. Much was destroyed by internal conflict in the city. As with many of the ancient cultures in Mexico, human sacrifice was essential to ensure that the sun would rise and that life would continue. For some there was no choice, but for others, it was an honour to give one's life so that life could continue for those left behind. Excavated chambers beneath the Citadel at Teothihuacan housed sacrificed victims or volunteers...maybe volunteers as they seem to have been dressed as warriors.
We stopped at a rock carving factory at a village just before the pyramids. Statues are carved out of obsidian and inlaid with lapis lazuli, tiger eye, malachite, shell, jade and all kinds of other wonderful semi-precious gems that are found in the area. While we were there, we learned about the multiple uses for agave...besides tequila! Paper can be made from the branches and each branch has a spiky tip connected to fibers that can be used as a needle and thread. We got to taste several tequilas, pulque (a fermented cactus juice...bordering on beer) and some pear cactus liqueurs. Learned that it is Mescal that has the worm in the bottle...not tequila...and that to Mexicans, the national drink is pulque!
Part of this tour included a visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadelupe (the Virgin Mary). Apparently, a poor man, Juan Diego, in the 1500's saw and spoke with a vision of Mary on a hill. The bishop demanded proof and Mary sent Juan back with roses from the hill....where previously there had never been any.....and a miraculous image of her appeared on his cloak, which is now on display in the new Basilica behind the altar. People-mover conveyor belts were installed in front of the cloak so that people would not stop and stay! You have to snap your photos quickly.....or take several rides back and forth to get the best shot!
Here's more to the story if you're interested:
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2614-our-lady-of-guadalupe-tonantzin-or-the-virgin-mary
Cultural Day
On my other day in Mexico City, I went to the Museum of Anthropology and History to learn more about the ancient cultures. I had been told by a fellow dancer that there was a lot of information in English, but mostly it was in Spanish.....so I didn't get as much info as I was hoping. Still....it was amazing to see the artifacts and read whatever there was in English! It is a huge museum and I only saw a few of the rooms on the main floor....the introduction to anthropology, Teotihuacan, Aztec and Mayan rooms. And that was more than enough for one day.
In the evening, I went to the Ballets Folkloricos, a presentation of folkloric dances. Fabulous costumes.....and the skirts....2- or 3-circle skirts that whirled and flowed....in white and stunning colours.....gorgeous!
I went early by subway, since there was a station right near the hotel and one right near the theatre....and it was cheap....5 pesos to wherever no matter how many stops (about 40 cents). An experience. Not very clean. Not as much signage or maps as I would have liked in the stations.....and there were NO line maps in the cars. (I was happy to have sort of memorized the stops and transfer points from my internet search earlier!)
And VERY crowded. At one point I managed to squeeze off the train to wait for the next one because there were just too many bodies squished too tightly together and too many hands needing or finding places to go. Eww... Decided that I would NOT take the subway back to the hotel. Taxi at any cost would be much better.
The Ballets performed in a beautiful building...very ornate and classical on the outside, but more art deco on the inside. Stunning stained glass ceiling in the theatre itself depicting the muses, I believe.... Music was provided by a mariachi band complete with a couple of harps!
Although it was a crazy trip to make, I LOVED being at the retreat and dancing, dancing, dancing. Being with all the other dancers and new-age people was like finding my tribe...at least one of them! It was fabulous and I would certainly go again! Plus Mexico is a physically and culturally colourful place to visit!
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