We've
had many experiences that haven't fit into any of my past blog
posts. Of course I haven't captured many of the experiences we've had
with my camera, but at least here are some more glimpses into our day to
day life in Mexico.
Below is a series of photos with captions that explain what the photos
are about. Some are self explanatory... Enjoy learning more about our
lives over this 8 month period of time in and around Tepoztlán!
One
important note I will make here is that it was dramatically
different traveling through European countries in relation to Mexico.
Mexico is a developing country, where Europe is first world.
During our time in Mexico, we've been forced to look at our first world
lives through a microscope, and discover some aspects of life that we
haven't had as a result of living in such a "developed" place. And of
course all of the things that we have had that have shaped who we are.
In other words, we've really had to look at our white privilege, which
hasn't felt comfortable, but has proven to be an incredible opportunity
for us all.
Please view the following photos and few videos as a further glimpse into our lives in Tepoztlán, Mexico. The photos and videos are not in chronological order and are somewhat random. By no means have I covered all of our experiences here, but I wanted you to get a further picture of our daily lives in this "pueblo magico".
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| In Mexico City when we first arrived at our favorite cafe. |
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| Taken from our yard. A sign shortly after we arrived in Tepoztlán of what was to come... |
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| Brian and Lea on a hike. |
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| Mangoes! |
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| A parade in the center. |
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| Lea getting ice cream! |
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| An old car, which is a common sight here. |
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| My friend Berta and I. |
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| Berta's daughter making chile covered apples. People love their spice here! |
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| Imagine seeing the doctor for the equivalent of about $2! |
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| Lea and I went to a water park with our friend Erica and her family. |
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| Lea with a cut up mango. |
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| A common sight. A bike full of treats! |
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| Lea and her little friend at the water park. She does so well with younger kids! |
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| The front of a "hardware" store. |
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| We visited another "pueblo magico" called Tlayacapan. |
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| Lea
and I at the home of Emiliano Zapata in Tlayacapan. He
was an important figure during the Mexican Revolution. |
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| Lea in front of a cool store front. |
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| We had our friend Catalina and her kids over for dinner. |
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| Juana, the woman around the corner who we get our fresh, handmade tortillas from. |
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| Produce in the market. |
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| Raspados, carved ice with flavoring poured on top which are very popular in the heat! |
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| Brian watching our close friend's Jose's fútbol game. A typical Sunday afternoon activity for us. |
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| Meat prepared at a potluck meal after the game for the team and their families. Lots of meat here! |
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| Lea and I enjoying Aurora's enchilada verdes. YUM! |
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| A parade in the center. Umbrellas are often used as shades from the sun. |
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| A gas truck blew up close to our house early one morning. The fireball and blasts were terrifying for us! |
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| I passed by the restaurant that was next to the explosion shortly afterward, and this is what I saw on the table... |
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| The weekend after the explosion, there were significant fires in the mountains surrounding the village. It was a difficult time. It made us think about our lack of control and what's really important in this world. Being here has been a good reminder of these crucial lessons. |
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| A man with a broom in the center. |
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| A man sharpening knives from the energy of his body! |
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| An ice cream truck! |
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| Lea with some of her friends from school. |
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| Lea on the back of Jose's truck off to fútbol practice. |
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| The truck up at Jose's game. |
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| A great shot of Brian and Lea! |
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| Brian enjoying a mangoe. |
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| The big marketplace. |
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| A professional fútbol game we went to in Cuernavaca. |
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| There was lots of food. Very different than hot dogs and hamburgers, though! |
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| Our close friends with Brian and Lea at the game. |
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| Lea with some piña at the game. | | | | |
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| A fruit only potluck after Lea's swim class. |
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| A papeleria, or stationary shop. |
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| A bike shop in a nearby village. |
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| A bike vendor. |
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| Maria Luisa, my Spanish teacher who also became a good friend. |
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| Our dentist and friend Erica. |
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| Lea at Monday morning honors at her school. |
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| Kimberly with Maria Rosa, a friend of hers who works in the marketplace. |
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| Our long term friends Jose and Aurora. | |
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| Kimberly with the staff from the private school she taught at this year. |
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| Our friends José and Abby. We gave José that t-shirt! |
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| A typical restaurant. |
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| A man working in a corn field. |
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| With our friends Berta and Miguel. |
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| A friend that I made. I'm pleased that I had no problem doing that here! |
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| A group of mariachi players. |
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| Lissett and Lea on the back of the truck. Lea even got accustomed to chile lollipops! |
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| Unfortunately, lice was an ongoing issue in our family. Lea doesn't seem too bummed out about having to do a treatment here, though! |
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| And me doing a lice treatment while showing off our incredible daily breakfast of papaya, magoe, guayaba, and yogurt. |
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| A bike shop in Tepoz. Its rare to see people biking in the village since it's so hilly and most of the streets are cobblestone. It's something I really miss! |
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| Kimberly at Xochicalco, an archeological site outside of Cuernavaca. |
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| Flowers! |
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| A view of the mountains. |
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| We were excited to spot this man wearing this t-shirt! |
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| Lissett and Lea! |
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| Aurora and lea watching José's game. |
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| Aurora's parents in front of their little shop at their home. |
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| Another papeleria. |
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| Other women selling tortillas who are closeby. |
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| Our friend Elvia. |
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| José with some friendly bears. |
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| There was big activism in regard to expanding the highway that leads into the village. Here is a car parade against the expansion. |
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| "Our parents said no golf club. We say no expansion." About 20 years ago a big corporation wanted to build a golf course in the village and the people fought it. |
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| "Our land is not for sale." |
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| Activism against the expansion of the highway around the time of Dia de los Muertos. |
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| A mural painted against the expansion. |
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| Beautiful rugs in the center. |
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| Lots of baskets! |
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| The market in the center. |
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| Different kinds of beans sold in the center. |
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| José, Lissett and Lea. |
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| Lea with her good friends the first time we were here in Tepoz about 4.5 years ago. |
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| Lea with the same friends this year. They've grown up together! |
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| Lea and Lissett. |
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| Having our friends over for dinner. |
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| Avacadoes are so plentiful, and sooo good! |
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| Pizza delivery! |
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| The kids having fun together! |
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| The police can really be a presence. |
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| And they certainly travel differently than our cops do! |
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| On the back of the truck. |
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| José and Brian cooking out after a game. |
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| Nopale, squash and mushrooms. My kind of meal! |
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| In front of a nopale (cactus) field by the fútbol field. |
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| Kimberly climbing up a metal staircase that José made. He's a welder. | | |
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| Lea and I enjoying snacks in the center. |
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| Coca cola is a common sight. I'd say that more of it is drank here than in the US! |
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| A woman who I managed to zoom in on. Generally, I don't take photos of people without their permission and it feels uncomfortable to ask. But sometimes I can zoom in enough and not be conspicuous. |
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| Playing a card game with our friends. |
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| Lea with her friends at one of her fútbol games. |
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| At the fútbol field that José grande plays at. |
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| Lea and Lissett. |
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| Brian hanging out with the guys after the game. |
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| Lea and Aurora. |
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| José. |
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| More beans in the market. |
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| Produce in the market. |
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| Bulk items in the market. |
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| The large indoor market in Cuernavaca. |
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| Our friends Claudia and Rohelio who run the small shop closeby that we shop at daily. |
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| Clothes hanging outside. A common site. |
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| Mary (Aurora's sister) helping her with a project. |
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| Lea in the street. |
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| Candy is definitely big here! |
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| Furniture is often sold this way. Brian bought a table in the center that he carried up the hill on his back! |
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| Our friend's house. |
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| Lea at El Sabino, my school. |
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| Afterschool at Lea's school. |
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| A shot I caught of two older women. |
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| A man helping a woman with her high heels down the cobblestone hill. |
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| Flower arrangements can be elaborate here for different parties. |
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| Ballet Fólklorico! Traditional Mexican dancing that is truly beautiful. |
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| Our friends got a puppy when we were here. |
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| I love seeing Wisconsin T-shirts! It was a great conversation starter with this man, a parent at Lea's school. |
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| Brian and our friend Javier in Mexico City. The city is an ocean of lights at night! |
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| Lea with balloons in Cuernavaca. |
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| Beautiful roses. |
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| Palm trees are everywhere. |
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| Cotton candy! |
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| Kimberly poses with a sculpture in Mexico City. |
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| I like making friends wherever I go. The waiters in a restaurant that my mom and I ate at in Mexico City. |
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| Spicy treats! |
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| Popcorn! |
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| Does this give you a sense of how Mexicans feel about spice on their food? They love it! |
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| Vendors in Mexico City in Chapultepec Park. |
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| This is a traditional practice that you can see outside the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. These men hang and swing upside down HIGH off the ground! |
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| Kimberly inside the museum. |
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| A fire on the street in the village. |
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| Pruning these flower bushes. |
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| My zumba class! |
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| Chile being poured on chips afterschool. |
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| More men selling tables. |
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| These Jacaranda trees are breathtakingly beautiful when they're in bloom! |
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| I think this was the only rainy day earlier in our stay before the rainy season began much more recently. |
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| And we certainly do some of this at home. We watch movies on the computer, but our rule here is they need to be in Spanish! And it's fun to have the kitty on lap :-) |
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| Brian and Lea on a walk. |
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| "I love you." Nice graffiti, huh? |
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| See Tesoro mountain behind us. We live on Tesoro Street. This mountain we are fortunate enough to see daily! |
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| Palm Sunday. |
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| Dead grasshoppers are common here to eat. |
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| And dried shrimp. |
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| Pineapples are plentiful! |
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| And mangos! |
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| Different spices. |
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| Lea and Brian after a parade. Those are flower petals on the ground. |
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| Laughing on a mountain top! |
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| Lea on a hike. |
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| Kimberly and Lea on a "bench" which is a car seat. The people certainly are resourceful here! |
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| Our friend Max and I. He's a downtown traffic police officer. |
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| Our house. |
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| Lea at swim lessons. |
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| Our friend Jazmine who we often buy produce from in the market. |
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| Back on the truck! |
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| Our friend Kate who runs another small tienda closeby. Kimberly hiked up to the pyramid in the village with her regularly early in the morning. |
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| Our co-counseling ongoing group. We met weekly in this outdoor garden area. Co-counseling has been an important part of our lives here! |
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| Two women who have been a part of the group and have been important to us. | |
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| Our fundamentals co-counseling group that Brian led. He did a beautiful job with them! |
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| The co-counseling women's group in Mexico City that I was fortunate enough to meet with. |
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| With our extended "family" here. |
A very short video of a man walking and selling bread, or "pan". He yells "pan" as he walks. A daily part of our lives here!
A short video of physical games for the parents at Lea's school. Great fun!
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| With friends in Tepoz. Three of these kids live in Mexico City. We stayed with them later on in their home in the city. What a great experience for us! |
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| Lea having fun with her friends! |
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| José, Aurora, and I on the back of the truck. What a great feeling of freedom! |
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| Brian and Lea on the back of the truck. |
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| Enjoying sandwiches at one of the games. |
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| An older woman sweeping on the main street in the village. |
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| Lea enjoying ice cream! |
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| A clever way to cart stuff around! |
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| The inside of the central market. |
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| Lea and Brian getting "nieves," or ice cream. |
A short video of Monday morning "honors" at Lea's school.
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| Lea led the the honors ceremony one week. I felt so incredibly proud of her as I watched! |
A short video of Lea speaking at the honors ceremony, of course all in Spanish! Incredible. She often translated for me over the course of the year. Her Spanish seems pretty fluent by this point. We'll have to make sure she doesn't lose it. What a gift she now has!
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| At one of Jose´s fútbol games outside of Tepoz. This field was surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful mountains! |
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| My house is your house. |
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| Tepoztlán, Magical Village. It has actually been officially named a "magical village" in Mexico. |
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| Sunset from the back of the truck. Lots of absolutely incredible days spent here! |
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| What an incredible journey it's been! How fortunate we are to have gained this perspective and to have had this opportunity. |
