Tepexi de Rodríguez y Peña de Bernal

7-July-2019, Sunday, 9:31 PM CDT

What an exciting week it has been. The highlights include visits to my future site (Tepexi de Rodriguez, Puebla) and to a popular tourist town in the state of Queretaro (Pena de Bernal). The four weeks of in-country training have virtually all been in Peace Corps Mexico headquarters in the city of Queretaro. But this week all of us trainees got to visit the places where we’ll be serving for the next two years. Future site visits are excellent opportunities to get out of the classroom and into our new homes. I spent most of last week in Tepexi, but returned to Queretaro for the weekend, during which Miguel and I visited my favorite attraction yet.

Tepexi de Rodriguez (or simply, Tepexi) is a city of about 5,000 people located in the southern part of Puebla. Its principal industry is mining rock such as marmol (marble), and its quarries account for a large portion of Mexico’s output of rock products. The pueblo has veins of mountain roads that constitute a network reminiscent of “The Mountain” at home (or “The Bush” for the Red Tornado readers). I stayed in Tepexi for three nights and four days. Two days were for travel, so not much happened during them, but the other two days were packed with activity and discovery.

My first full day in Tepexi was spent at my new university. I have never taught at the college level and am really excited to start in August. My main counterpart at Tec is Hugo. Hugo knows the most English of all the faculty at the university, and he, like me, has a lot to learn in his second language. The first thing I did was meet with the directors. I understood little but saw no problem with this. Then they asked me to give a speech that I was not prepared for. This, however, was also not a problem, and I was actually glad to be surprised. That way I was not nervous and could speak, in Spanish, from the heart. It went really well. After a lengthy introduction, the Director of Academics, Martin, handed me the mic. 

“No entiendo mucho,” I said, an opening statement that was greeted with widespread laughter (no entiendo mucho = I do not understand much). This joke, though it was serious and true as well, broke the ice wonderfully, and relaxed me for the remainder of the speech, which lasted about ten minutes. I nailed one phrase that garnered applause: “El viernes, yo regresare a Querétaro. Pero en Agosto yo estoy aquí para dos años con ustedes. Y estoy emocionado y estoy preparado.”

After the speech, Hugo and Luis gave me a tour of the university. Tec’s campus is similar to those of small schools in the US (Tec’s enrollment is about 600). It has academic buildings, shops, an administrative building, caf, sports fields, etc., but all is much less fancy than in the US. This is just the reality of the situation; universities in the states have more money, plain and simple. After the tour, Hugo and I met to discuss my Fall schedule. I’ll be teaching A LOT, and I will have a lot of autonomy in the classroom. I’m excited about both possibilities. I got a copy of Tec’s English Language Program Curriculum, written by Hugo himself...in Spanish. Yet another opportunity for me to acquire more language. With the curriculum in hand, I can start planning lessons--an activity worthy of my time and effort here. 

Day Two in Tepexi was more about fun and exploration. I met another Hugo, an anthropologist/archaeologist with a glut of knowledge on plants, animals, geography, and history of Tepexi and surrounding cities. Hugo Two is an energetic, intelligent, friendly dude that I will spend more time with in the future. We already established that we will mountain bike a lot. He also told me that there are plenty of swimming holes around Tepexi to cool off in after a long day of riding. Those who know me know how much I adore swimming in natural bodies of water after exercise in hot weather. 

Korah, my new cousin, and I, led by Hugo Two, took a mountain ride to Tepexi Viejo (Old Tepexi) to check out the ruins. Here we found many beautiful vistas, both aged and reconstructed ruins, and pieces of ceramic from the people who used to live and trade there. It was really cool to find and handle objects that date back to before the Spanish Conquest, even if they were only fragments. Our tour of Tepexi Viejo was on the Fourth of July, and our country’s birthday coincided with the birthday of my new aunt.

Tia Male is a wonderful cook and an even better person. In fact every member of my new family is amazing (as are the members of my current Mexican family ;)). For Tia Male’s birthday was had tacos and pastel para postre (cake for dessert). The party was attended by eleven members of their family, including some great kids whom I already love. We drank tequila y fresca. When I told Tio Benji I was done because I had an early start the next day, at first he acquiesced. Later, though, he talked me into one more, “for the United States.” How could I say no? I sang happy birthday and God Bless America for them and witnessed one of the cutest things ever. Regina, about three years old, singing a song with the most adorable instances of vibrato ever sung. I love my new family already, but there are many differences between our home and my home in the states.

For the first time ever, I showered using a bucket. It was not as bad as you might think. The water comes from a spring and is heated on the range. Using a bowl, you first wet yourself, then lather up, and finally rinse. Really not that bad, something I can easily adjust to. Another difference, they have five dogs and innumerable cats. The dogs are nice but unclean. Some are timid or aggressive from abuse and many roam the streets freely. They don’t live comfortably like dogs in the states and, generally, are not treated with the common love and respect we see in the US. But our dogs don’t have bad lives, just non-luxurious ones. Except for the shower, we have running water, electricity, internet, and a solid structure to protect us. What more could I ask for? I played pogs (tazos) with one of my sobrinos (nephews) and with my sobrina (niece) Regina I played in some freestyle, imagintaive way with a dinosaur figurine. I can’t wait to be with them again in August.

View from "Danny Boy's" office

Professor Kramer in front of his new university. Go Raptors!

Tepexi de Rodriguez, my home for the next two years (town is off left)

Tepexi Viejo

Hugo Dos y yo :)

Freakin snow-capped volcanoes that I didn't even know where there till my last day in Tepexi. Cloud coverage made them invisible up to that point. And a quarry in the middle-ground.

 Yesterday, Saturday (7/6), Miguel and I went to Pena de Bernal. This place is home to a monolith mountain that is spectacular to behold. After browsing the shops and strolling through el centro, Miguel and I caught a motor bike carriage up to the base of the mountain. From there Miguel wished me well before I ascended to as far as they allow non-repelling climbers. The climb started fairly simple with both natural and man-made steps allowing for easy ascension. But near the “pedestrian summit” things got a bit technical. I had to supplemented step-climbing with using all available limbs to propel myself upward. The climb was, at times, difficult and dangerous, but many levels of fitness were represented at the “top.”  While up there, I jotted some observations in Spanish.

Vistas espectaculares de las montañas y pueblos. Gente tomar fotos, reír, descansar, escuchar música agradable, subir piedras y halcones volar y jugar o coquetear, personas disfrutan vida, posando para fotos, platicar, cantar, estar en amor, saludar otros, encantadores de motivación. De este alta tengo emociones profundos y pensas grandes. Mí vida es buena, tengo mucha suerte. Quiero compartir mi felicidad con el mundo. Gracias Dios.

You can translate that if you want :)

Ok to end with some more random highlights. Let’s see...The buses here are much nicer than the buses in the states--reclining seats, TVs in every headrest, a sandwich, drink, and chips for long trips. In Tepexi, I ate some combination of the blood and stomach of a goat that tasted, to me, mostly like poop (choked it down anyway, masking the odorous flavor with beans, rice, and salsa). I told my sobrino Kiki, about five, that my dad was Dracula because my family jokingly associated Pennsylvania with Transylvania (his face betrayed his uneasy belief). When taking a cab here, price is negotiated before the ride. Eggs are not refrigerated. Sometimes I order food without really knowing what it is lol. It’s inappropriate to be shoeless if you’re in the common areas of a home. Am I boring you? Last one. Mezcal en el campo es más fuerte que mescal en la ciudad ;) Hasta tiempo próxima.

Pena de Bernal

View to the east

View to the south

¡Arriba!