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January 05, 2007
My host family, the toilet, and other cultural issues...
Bueno,
Como me dijo Sandra Cisneros en la Universidad de Michigan:
As soon as I crossed into another country, everything switches to another language. Toc, says the light switch in this country, at home it says click. Honk say the cars at home, here they say tan-tan-tan. The scrip-scrape scrip of the high heels across saltillo floor tiles. The angry lion growl of the corrugated curtains where the shopkeepers roll them open each morning and the lazy lion roar at night when they pull them shut. The pic pic pic of somebody´s far away hammer. Church bells over and over, all day, even when it´s not o´clock. Roosters. The hollow echo of the dogs barking. Bells from skinny horses pulling toursists in a carriage, clip-clop on cobblestones and big chunks of horse caquita tumbling out of them like shredded wheat.
Sweets are sweeter, colors brighter, the bitter more bitter. A cage of parrots of all rainbow colors of Lulu sodas. Pysing a window out to open it instead of pulling it up. A cold slash of door latch in your hand instead of the dull round doorknob. Tin sugar spoon and hor surprised the hand feels because it´s so light. Children walking to school in the morning with their hair still wet from the morning bath.
Churches the color of flan. Vendors selling slices of jicama with chile, lime juice, and salt. Balloon vendors. The vendor of flags. The corn-on-the-cob vendor. The pork rind vendor. The fried banana vendor. The hot cake vendor. The vendor of strawberries. Of apple bars and teocotes bathed in caramel. The merengue man. The ice cream vendor. And a VERY GOOD ice cream at only 2 pesos. The coffee man with the coffeemaker on his back and a paper cup dispenser, the cream and suger boy scuttling alongside him..
The smell of diesel exhaust, the smell of somebody roasting coffee, the smell of hot corn tortillas along with the pat-pat of the woman´s hands making them.
These are my first smells of Merida. These are my first sights of Mexico.
When I arrived a few days ago, I didnt know what to expect. But it´s been a blast, thus far. I´m living with such a nice family, Doña Sara y Señor Antonio Cardenas, a nice elderly family (ellos estan en los años setenta) and they have many grandchildren, many of whom I met: Julio y Victor, Victorcito y Lorena ... they´ve been a part of the program for a long time, and although they dont speak a word of English, communicating with them has been rather facil. It´s amazing that I´m able to communicate with people and they are able to communicate with me... and they show a lot of interest in the United States. Every morning, they wake us up, and they´ve been so kind showing us around the city of Merida.
My roommate Ben, seems to be a nice kid. He´s from Grinnell College in Iowa-- and he´s originally from Oregon. He´s also a trombone player and he´s a year older than me. He´s studing biochem. and is a Spanish minor, so we at least have something in common.
The other students in the program are all really great-- two girls from Swathmore and another from Grinnell and only 1 student from Rutgers. I´m really proud to represent the University of Michigan (and the Spanish department)...
Merida has been a great city and it´s a great center of tourism. Although it´s pobre ( and every morning I have to fold the toilet paper up and put it in the garbage and NOT in the toilet), there is still so much to do here and SO much to appreciate. Cada noche, we have a class which is only for the Rutgers students, to immerse in the culture-- we take walking tours through the city, and visit many of the historical monuments. When I find a computer with a USB port, I will put my pictures up.
Last night, we went to the town square where they had ballet folklorico and mariachis for free. Because many of the ciudadanos live in poverty, the government of Merida subsidizes many cultural events for the citizens--- there is something free and different EVERY NIGHT.
After, we walked the Calle Montejo, which is a street of French and Moorish architecture, designed after the Champs Elysee in France, the largest main street in Paris. It was beautiful and very rich...
Something that I noticed while I walked: Mexico does not have any consumer laws. I because fascinated with this aspect of life last night. If someone trips on the sidewalk, for instance, it´s nobody´s fault but your own. You can´t sue anyone in Mexico. It´s not like the United States. It´s different here. And more friendly. Take it from me. Even the Midwesterners can´t compare to the friendly Mexican people.... I will write more about this when I have time...
Also yesterday, I went to Wallmart (what a universal and global experience that was) and then to the newly-designed US Consulate to register as a student in Merida. It was a beautiful building--- really nice architecture.
This morning, we had orientation at the school. Because the scheduling is different in Mexico, and especially here in the Yucatan, I will start some classes Monday y los otros on Jan. 22nd. But every weekend we have trips and every night we have the Rutgers classes, taught by University professors and only for us.
Anyway, I have class now and have to go. I will write more next week after I return from Uxmal. Como se dice in Merida, vayan bien ustedes.
Adios y un abrazo.
Posted by jlsumich at January 5, 2007 04:05 PM