9th of July, 2014

Intern Shareef's Blog #14:

  Today for spanish class we went on a field trip to El Morro churrería. It was this really good churro place by the Seguros LatinoAmerica (the second tallest building in Mexico.) We took the Metro there and when we got there we could already smell and see all the delicious churros all over. So how it works is you order a chocolate drink and then you get churros and you are able to dip your churros in the drink. The kinds of drinks they had were Especial (bitter), Francés (regular), Mexicano (sweet), Español (very, very sweet) We all tried to order something different so we could taste the others and I ordered the Español y 4 churros. It was so good the churros had very strong sugar and cinnamon and it was very delightful. It hit the spot every time I ate one until the last few because I had eaten too much junk in one sitting. 

When we headed back the students and professors had a class type thing so Quinn and Briella and I played with play-doh, drew, and watched videos. It was fun and they are so adorable. When they got back we went to eat at this place called Italiano's and they had really good fettucini Alfredo it was almost as good as my moms home cooking. While we were there we watched the Argentina vs Netherlands game and weren't really cheering for Argentina to win we just wanted to see the Netherlands lose. We wanted Arjen Robben to have to feel the misery the Mexican players had to feel because of his flop. During halftime we headed home because we thought why are we sitting here in this uncomfortable chair, where we can't boo with passion at Robben every time he comes on the screen, when at home we have a nice couch to lay on and we can scream at him all we want.

 So that was nice but we ended up falling asleep because it got really boring until the penalty kicks where Argentina won it and is going to the championship against Germany! We are now super happy and hope Brazil crushes Netherlands in the consolation game too. Later in the night we went to go eat with Dr. David/Hoskins and went to have tacos at our favorite taco place. When we were done we went over to uncle Jason's friends Kettie house. She is from Venezuela and is really nice and cool. Since I didn't learn anything new today he told me to learn two new things about Venezuela so we asked her boyfriend and he  said that number 1. The women are very beautiful. Which was a funny/great answer and number 2. Mostly everyone their is very friendly and friendship is thought of very highly there. So today was a good day and I didn't have as much work. I hope I can have more days like this!

Intern Shareef's Blog #13:

8th of July, 2014

 Intern Shareef's Blog #13:

  This Morning I was able to sleep in a little bit and relax. Even though this morning was relaxing the rest of the day made up for it. I started off with Spanish class like usual and I am super excited because I am starting to learn new things and we are taking a field trip tomorrow (more details tomorrow.) Then we did a type of exam wear the Londres students (or under-grads) had to go to different stations called an OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) My job was to get all the under-grad students and interview them each con uno pregunta (one question.) Some of them spoke english but others didn't so I had to try my best to talk to them in Spanish with the help of Lesly. Anyways the questions were: 1. What's the most important thing to understand about Mexico and why? 2. Who is the most famous Mexican person/figure that people should know about and why? 3. What are some common stereotypes about Mexicans? I got many similar answers but also some were pretty different so it was good. For the first question many people had said that the culture is very important as well as the food. For the second question many people had said Frida Kahlo (which my uncle thought was very interesting for different reasons), and for the last one many people said Mariachi's because that's what a lot of people think that is all Mexico is (Mariachi's and Tacos.) I was really angry in the end because I ended up recording all of them in slow motion but I can fix it on the computer. After that I went to go have lunch with Jennifer, Amanda, Sarah, Roberto, and another Amanda. It was really fun and we went to this place called WOK-BOX it is kind of like a subway but with rice and noodle and vegetables and other ingredients. It was very delicious and it is now on my recommended list. When we got back I had some work to do; first I cleaned Lesly's closet with the help of her assistants, and we had to box up all of the food for the homeless shelter and organize it. Then after that I went to Vania's office and had to organize all of these folders (by Alphabetical order) that were wet because when there was a flood and they all got soaked. So that took a long time but it was okay because in the middle my uncle took me out for a break to go watch the second half of the Germany vs Brazil game and it was a very intense match with Brazil putting up a decent fight but not being able to finish. In the end Germany won 7-0 and I was so happy but I also felt bad for the Brazillian fans who had to go through that and watch all of that pain. 

  

Later that night we went to the TuriBus and saw all over the city and even though I have pretty much been all over before it was still very cool and a pretty sight to see in the evening high off the ground. When we got off we got off at the Angel of Independence and took lots of pictures there and it was very fun. In the end today was a very good, long, fun, interesting day.

7th of July, 2014

Intern Shareef's Blog #12:

  Today we were back to work. This morning we woke up and got our laundry, which made me so happy because now I have clean clothes! After that we went back home and got ready for the day. We then departed to work and I went to spanish class. Spanish class is getting a lot better and I am starting to learn a lot more stuff now so that is good! I enjoy learning spanish and I hope to be fluent one day. 

     After spanish class we headed to the Basillica which is a catholic church that has the following: 

1. The pope has had to visit, 2. A miracle has had to happen there, 3. There has to be a relic. This specific Basillica's miracle was on December 12th 1531. The picture of the Virgin Guadelupe appeared on Juan Diego's clothing. He was once upon the hill where the Basillica is now, and the Virgin Guadalupe appeared to him, so he told a local priest but he did not believe him and he questioned why she would come to someone like him. So he went back and the Virgin Guadalupe told him to carry these flowers that were out of season but he had dozens of them. So he picked them all up in his shirt and he brought them to the priest and out of nowhere an image of the Virgin Guadelupe appeared on his cloth. So then the priest was able to see she really did come to Juan Diego. 

The relic they have there is that same cloth where the image of the Virgin Guadelupe appeared. So today I learned a bit more about Catholicism and I asked Leticia, Jennifer, Tania, and Vania (in no specific order) what they thought was the most important thing I should know about Catholicism and this is what they said: "I don't think this is the most important thing but it is probably the thing that confuses people the most. People wonder why we pray to Saints instead of god." Catholics pray to saints instead of god because they believe their word is more powerful than the general publics. It's not that they believe that the general publics not powerful and is not listened to but the saints have more power than others. They also pray to the Saints for favors and each Saint has a specific trait for instance St. Josephs patron is for workers and St. Sebastians Patron is for Athletes. "In the catholic religion you must have a lot of obedience and loyalty, but you also need to follow the 7 sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anoiting the Stick, Holy Orders and Matrimony." Some people also have a downside to Catholicism even though they were once apart of it. "Catholicism is more of an act people play instead of a lifestyle. Many people will just say yeah I'm catholic but they don't live a Catholic lifestyle." Some are in between "Many Catholics every time they walk past a church they do the crosses on their body. One in between their forehead and nose, one between their nose and chin, another between their chin and mid-chest, and then a big one from forehead to mid-chest. Some also believe in Saints more than they do God or Jesus Christ. There are many Saints too so they may be very faithful to a specific Saint. Catholics can also be very hypocritical and play the role of a Catholic but don't follow the lifestyle of a Catholic." So many people have different beliefs on most religions wether they are apart of that religion or not or even used to be so it was very interesting to get peoples answers and see what they believed. I am sorry if I got any information wrong on any part of the Catholic church.

6th of July, 2014

  Intern Shareef's Blog #11:

  Last day at Malinalco. This morning we went and had breakfast at Casa Luna. Today I got sunny-side up eggs and ate A LOT of this sweet bread. It was so delicious and it tasted kind of like a dry cinnamon bun of some sort. Anyways after that we went back to the hotel and I laid down and helped watch Leticia's kids while uncle Jason took the students to a retreat. While they were away we played at the mini park (that has a slide, a teeter-totter, a swing, and the gymnast rings) at the pool. Then we headed to a culture center where I made a ceramic J for my uncle J-ason. It was kind of hard because I wanted to make it smooth and shaped very well. It ended up cracking a bit though. After that we went to a museum and learned about the crops in Malinalco as well as all the butterflies Malinalco has (they have over 300 species of butterflies.) We also went in to a replica of the pyramid and learned how one would  become a warrior. They would have to go in to the pyramid/temple and would be isolated in a room with two priests and the governor. The man who wanted to be a warrior would have to pierce their nose cartilage with a nail from an animals claw and would put the blood in a hole in the ground as an offering to the gods. When we were finished with the museum I bought a little cactus for my uncle because I didn't like the cactus we ate so I threw it away but now he can replenish the few pieces in a few months or years.

 When they got back from the retreat a couple of hours later we went back to D.F and the ride was very beautiful and we saw many different sceneries as well as little towns and a big ATV sight. It was a really nice drive even though I wasn't feeling too well.

5th of July, 2014

Intern Shareef's Blog #10:

  Wow today will be very hard to describe in words. Today started off with all of us going to breakfast at Casa Luna. I ordered scrambled eggs and it was pretty good, nothing too special but it was good. After breakfast we went to the pyramid of Malinalco. It was about a twenty five minute hike up but it was very beautiful. We could see many mountains and we could see the whole entire town that we are staying in. It was a very beautiful sight to see, we also learned more about the pyramids and how it was a very sacred place and this one area was like entering the mouth of a snake. It is very hard to explain but it was a very astonishing sight to see and the pyramid was amazing especially because it was made in ancient times by hand, without any cranes or building supplies or anything. After our journey to the pyramids we headed back to the hotel and got changed for Temezcal. The Temezcal is a place where you go to be with mother nature. We all went in to this little brick hut that had no windows. It did have a pit at the top to let air in and out but other than that when you close the door it is pitch black. So we all entered this little brick hut and in the middle there was a pit that was placed with heated, fiery rocks with herbs on the top. It smelt so good kind of like an herbal, mint type of tea plant. When we all entered it was very peacful and pitch black. The Temezcal has "4 doors" each door [part-taking] to the four elements (earth, wind, fire and water) After each door more fire rocks would be set in. During the doors at certain points we would say how we feel and we would talk and sing and at this point I am not sure how I could keep explaining the Temezcal because I would need to write a whole entire book to be able to explain it.

 Anyways after the Temezcal I was in the mood for some U.S candy (for my uncle specifically Snickers) so Jose and I went out searching for some. We went to a couple different stores but had no luck finding snickers it was really weird because I thought I had seen some at a shop we were at earlier that day. So we kept searching until we got to one shop where they had CRUNCH but no Snickers. So we bought a CRUNCH as well as a mexican type of Snickers. It was still pretty good tasting though. Anyways I had a very eventful, powerful, peaceful, meaningful day.

4th of July, 2014

Intern Shareef's Blog #9:

  Road Trip Day! Today we took our first trip to Malinalco. It was a pretty good drive here. It only took us about an hour and forty five minutes. We took a big van that seated 17 people it was really nice and pretty comfortable even though it was full. We stopped off at this little town called Chalma where we learned about the warriors who came there on their path to training at Malinalco. They would go cleanse themselves at a sacred tree and fast in the cave nearby. We all washed our hands in the sacred water from the tree and then we put on our flower crowns and danced with moraccas! After the dancing we got back in the van and headed to Malinalco and checked into our hotel, that had an amazing view from the porch area by the pool and little park. When we got there a few of us walked down to a restaurant to watch the Colombia game. It was a really upsetting game with Colombia losing 2-1. Now Colombia is out and I have no team to really cheer for in the World Cup.

 For dinner we went out to eat at this place called El Encuentro. It was very delicious it started off with our entrada or entree which was a potato salad, then we moved on to la sopas or the soups and my uncle ordered me a creamed carrot soup which wasn't that great but I managed. For the main course I had this meal called chiles en nogada. It was a big chile covered in this walnut cream that kind of tatsted like yogurt with pomegranates on top. In the middle it also had different kinds of fruits and meat , and for dessert I had fresa ice cream (strawberry ice cream.) After dinner me and Monse played with Leticia's adorable children while the profesors had a presentation type thing with the students. After that Vania and Rocio walked us back to the hotel and we played on the little park and I put my feet in the pool.

3rd of July, 2014

Intern Shareef's Blog #8:

  Today was a less productive day besides a few things. It started off with me sleeping in a half hour and my uncle brought my breakfast to me (awe that's so nice of him.) Then we headed to campus the usual, and I had spanish class, after that there was a meeting for the students to learn about Mexican culture. It was very interesting and my spanish teacher was teaching it, he spoke in spanish but wrote down everything he was saying in english on the powerpoint. A few things I learned were about how Oaxaca was the first to use pottery and the indigenous indians were the people who were pretty much slaves and forced to build and work. They were very good at what they did though because they were able to create all the pyramids and ruins when there was not very "high-tech" technology. After that my uncle, Dr. David and I went to go eat and we had a pretty good time. It was nice to get to know Dr. David a bit better because he is a really, cool, chill, nice guy. Anyways we ate tacos at a different place than usual I ordered the same thing (tacos de pastor) and it was still pretty good but I think I still like the usual place better. After lunch my uncle and I went to go pick up Leticia at the Airport. So that was fun I learned how to get to the Airport on the Metro and we had Krispy Kreme there and it was so good. When Leticia arrived we took her and her kids back to the University because Leticia had a class to teach. So we went back to the hotel while she was teaching and I watched her kids. They were so cute she has a 6 or 7 year old and a 3 or 4 year old, they are so funny and adorable I had a great time watching them, even though kids are very tiring. After a little while my uncle and Leticia came back to the hotel and we went home. When we were heading home on the Metrobus it was very crowded and people were right next to each other so it was very uncomfortable and I can see the difference between personal space on tri-met back home in oregon and personal space in Mexico. We finally got home and I was able to eat and blog.