http://www.ted.com/talks/eve_ensler_embrace_your_inner_girl.html

El templo de San Cayetano de Valenciana. All of the gold used in the church came from the mines.


Las Minas de Valenciana

In the Inquisition Museum. The building looked like a fortress surrounded by beautiful gardens. The walls were 4-5 feet thick stone sound barriers which prevented people on the outside from hearing the screams coming from inside. All of these tools were those used for torture in the late 1600s. One man, the Inquisitor, was in charge of all of the torturing and decided which person received which punishment. People hanging in this device would die of thirst and hunger.

The Guillotine. It originally had a flat blade and would take 2-3 falls to work effectively. A French doctor later introduced the angle in the blade to reduce the amount of suffering.

Chastity belts.

The stretching machine. Peoples limbs were sometimes stretched up to 30cm beyond their normal length.

After leaving the museum, one girl from last semester said that she could not eat cornflakes for a month.

In Central México, infant funerals were full of happiness, with a white casket and lots of flowers. The funeral procession would head towards the cemetery accompanying los angelitos with music and fireworks to make their sadness disappear.

more photos

In The Mummy Museum.

A pregnant mummy and the mummy baby.

Before burying infants, Mexicans would traditionally take a last photo with their deceased infant in their best clothes. In addition to these upsetting mummy babies there were photos of families with their dead children up on the walls and the sound of crying babies playing in the room.

The arid climate and minerals in the soil of Guanajuato made it such that rather than decomposing completely, buried bodies dried up.

This week consisted of various orientation activities and getting to know the city. I can't wait to start classes next week and to start my volunteer work at Centros Las Libres (http://www.laslibres.org.mx/eng/index.php?cmd=)

Last night my host parents took me to an amazing Taquería en Leon. On the 45 minute drive there, my 4 yearold host sister stamped her feet on the ground. As her shoes lit up she sang " I am in the disco. I am in the disco." She and I chatted in the back for the entire ride and I found out her favorite color is "pimp" (one of the English words she knows) when she pointed at her pink sneakers and said "mi favorito es pimp." She was naming other colors on her sweat pants when we pulled into what looked like a large garage. Inside was a large picture of Jesus, a sign that said Jesus blesses our Tacos, a few tables and a bunch of men behind a series of fryers. The tacos were incredible, spicy and super super good. Apparently, despite its questionable appearance, the taquería is very famous.

We had today off and I spent most of the day reading in various parks throughout the city. People watching, listening to Spanish, having time to think and reflect and read and just be is so nice. While I was reading today in the plaza in the middle of the City, a band started playing dance music. I was admiring their costumes and instruments when a small hand patted my shoulder. A young boy (maybe 10 or 11) asked me politely in Spanish for a dance. It was very flattering and adorable, but I politely declined. After the music stopped, I walked the 45 minutes back to my house and had a lovely conversation with my host mom about the city.

Speaking of Callejón del Beso,there is so much PDA (public displays of affection, dad) in Mexico that the president banned all kissing in public last year. When the police had difficulty enforcing the new law, it was repealed.

Some photos from the city

This is one of the many churches in one of the many plazas in Guanajuato. Like this one, all of the churches are vibrant colors with elaborate stone entrances and beautiful wooden doors.
The top of my house where the dog keeps watch.
Most of the buildings have balconies with black metal fencing. People decorate these fences with plants, flowers, clothes they are drying etc.
This is callejón del beso. The story goes that two lovers, a poor boy and a rich girl fell in love between these two balconies. When her father saw the relationship and the boy, he killed his daughter. Not a terribly happy ending.... Anyways, throughout the city there are several callejones like this one. They are miny alley ways that lead to winding streets and hidden stairwells.
This is my view of part of the city from my university. It only begins to capture the beautiful colors of the buildings and the way they climb up into the mountain side.

Life in Guanajuato is more than I could have asked for. Trying to describe the city is pretty much impossible because its beauty lies in the small intricacies which make up every building, every street, and every small alleyway. The streets wind around each other and up and down hills in a labyrinth which I am definitely going to get lost in. On the outskirts of the city they stretch up into the mountains as do the colorful houses and stores. From an aerial view it would almost looks as if someone did splatter paint in the middle of a mountain range. Needless to say, every time I look off the balcony of the university I catch my breath for a moment at the beautiful vista.

I just figured out my schedule for the semester and I will be taking 5 classes- a grammar course, a speaking course, a Mexican general history course, a Latin American literature course and a history course on prehispanic culture and society. All of the classes are with international student at my level of Spanish except the prehispanic history course is with only Mexican students. I would be completely and totally excited if these classes didn't begin at 8 Monday through Thursday and if I didn't live around 45 minutes from campus...

Nevertheless I am eager to start classes and actively start working on my Spanish. So much vocabulary and so many small grammar structures evade me having not spoken in over a month and once classes start hopefully my communication skills will improve drastically. When I begin classes, I will begin the volunteer aspect of my program. I cannot wait to meet the women at Centro Las Libres (http://www.laslibres.org.mx/eng/index.php?cmd=) and begin work with them. Last year, it became illegal in Guanajuato to receive any sort of abortion even in cases of rape or incest. There are also high rates of sexual assault and violence in the communities surrounding the city. I will truly have my work cut out for me and a lot to learn.

On another note, my fingers are crossed for Martha Coakley today. I was reading about her and thinking about the Health Care bill. I had fairly naive views on the health care bill and the overhaul in general so I decided to start the book Who Killed Health Care by Reginal Herzlinger. It has really shined a new light on the entire situation in just the first 30 pages. One of the things I have most looked forward to in going abroad is the opportunity to educate myself on current issues to a much greater extent than I am able to while taking classes and stressing about school. If anyone has any book recommendations, please send them my way. Anyways, it is not looking good for Coakley and I wish I wasn't registered in Texas...

First Night In Guanajuato

I am just settling after arriving in Guanajuato. Although I've only seen the city through car windows, I can say it is absolutely beautiful, much more beautiful than I expected. Old pastel houses and store fronts with elaborate fences line the cobblestone streets. There is a park full of trees where a vendors sell their goods at a market three days a week. And I am finally back to living in the mountains. When I felt myself sigh with relief at the site of the landscape I realized how much I have missed living in a valley.

My host family is wonderful. I even have a 4 year-old sister whom I struggle to understand. Despite my obvious lack of comprehension, she talks to me continuously pointing out all of the objects in the house, what color they are, what we do with them, how they work. The purple spoon and the yellow spoon can apparently both be used to eat hot peppers even though they are different colors.

Suffice it to say, I have been here for a total of three hours and I couldn't be happier.