Hola y buenos días de Tepexi. Today I woke up at seven and was in the pew for quarter of
eight. I missed church last week, but God forgave me because He has to. It was a typical
Catholic ceremony with a lot of kneeling, call and response, chanting, candles, incense,
singing, and communion. I haven’t attended many Catholic churches but have spelt
spiritually aroused during all of my visits. People ask if I’m Catholic and don’t seem
disappointed when I tell them I am not but that I believe in the same one true God that they
do. In addition to the vanilla, in-house ceremony, I attended another, more active one earlier
in the week.
eight. I missed church last week, but God forgave me because He has to. It was a typical
Catholic ceremony with a lot of kneeling, call and response, chanting, candles, incense,
singing, and communion. I haven’t attended many Catholic churches but have spelt
spiritually aroused during all of my visits. People ask if I’m Catholic and don’t seem
disappointed when I tell them I am not but that I believe in the same one true God that they
do. In addition to the vanilla, in-house ceremony, I attended another, more active one earlier
in the week.
I am trying my best to integrate and become a Mexicano Guero (White Mexican), so I
accept a lot of invitations. I often accept them without fully understanding their details and
what they entail. Such was the case late last week when I was invited to a procession.
Initially, I thought we’d be going an hour away to serve food to poor people. I accepted the
invitation reluctantly because of my vague understanding and the fact that I’d be missing
basketball practice (I need a lot of that). Gracias a Dios, it was an unexpectedly successful
outing.
accept a lot of invitations. I often accept them without fully understanding their details and
what they entail. Such was the case late last week when I was invited to a procession.
Initially, I thought we’d be going an hour away to serve food to poor people. I accepted the
invitation reluctantly because of my vague understanding and the fact that I’d be missing
basketball practice (I need a lot of that). Gracias a Dios, it was an unexpectedly successful
outing.
On the day of the mystery adventure I was working in my office when one of my students
came in and told me it was time to go. I learned then of his relationship to the woman that
had invited me, his mom, a librarian at TEC. We trudged up the long, steep hill toward
el centro and waited in a family business for his uncle to arrive with the truck. Before long,
I was crammed in the middle backseat between two people, and the bed was filled with
more people and a bunch of food and equipment. I was told it was an hour ride.
came in and told me it was time to go. I learned then of his relationship to the woman that
had invited me, his mom, a librarian at TEC. We trudged up the long, steep hill toward
el centro and waited in a family business for his uncle to arrive with the truck. Before long,
I was crammed in the middle backseat between two people, and the bed was filled with
more people and a bunch of food and equipment. I was told it was an hour ride.
I don’t know where we’re going, I’m going to be sitting cramped like this for at least an
hour, we’re gonna be out there all night, I have work to do. What did I get myself into?
Don’t hate, integrate.
hour, we’re gonna be out there all night, I have work to do. What did I get myself into?
Don’t hate, integrate.
We left Tepexi, a town of about 5,000 people, and ventured into el campo, the countryside.
The ride was beautiful, with mountain vistas, fields of corn, and primitive country houses.
The ride was also quick because the student and I were deep in a bilingual conversation.
He taught me the Mexican Spanish word carnal (car-NAL) which basically means good friend.
Carnal. In English, it means something more than friends ; )
The ride was beautiful, with mountain vistas, fields of corn, and primitive country houses.
The ride was also quick because the student and I were deep in a bilingual conversation.
He taught me the Mexican Spanish word carnal (car-NAL) which basically means good friend.
Carnal. In English, it means something more than friends ; )
Are you gonna try and teach carnal to this nineteen year old, basic level English speaker?
Yep. His grandmother, aunt, and uncle won’t know what we’re talking about lol.
His knowledge needed to be scaffolded before he could understand carnal. He first
thought it was something animals had, like, you know.
thought it was something animals had, like, you know.
He needs to know it’s an adjective. Does he know the parts of speech?
Turns out he needed a recap on nouns vs. verbs vs. adjectives, and he soon identified
each in the sentence, “That is a fat dog.”
each in the sentence, “That is a fat dog.”
“Carnal is a type of desire,” I told him, but he didn’t know that word, and I didn’t know
it in Spanish. After consulting the handy-dandy Google Translate, we bridge our
knowledge gap with deseo.
it in Spanish. After consulting the handy-dandy Google Translate, we bridge our
knowledge gap with deseo.
So now he knows that it’s an adjective, and it’s a type of desire, now I need to make
it relevant to him.
it relevant to him.
“When one person really, REALLY likes another person and wants to...you know,
he or she has carnal desires.”
he or she has carnal desires.”
The subject changed, as they do, but considering his ohs and head nods, I think he
obtained a basic understanding of the word. It’s nearly impossible to tell, though, which
is a difficult part of teaching. How do we measure what anyone “knows”?
obtained a basic understanding of the word. It’s nearly impossible to tell, though, which
is a difficult part of teaching. How do we measure what anyone “knows”?
Anyway, the ride wasn’t all that bad and shorter than I expected. We drove on rough
roads to an isolated part of the country. Along the way we saw fellow followers walking,
donkeys tied up and observing us curiously while chewing cud, and heard rather than
saw bottle rockets exploding well before the reached the heavens. Utility poles were
strung with white and yellow pennants, holey, allowing the wind to penetrate their thin,
flimsy bodies. About 100 people waited there, and I recieved looks of intrigue and
curiosity as the only guero there. Soon four men approached, shouldering a litter of
flowers and led by un padre. We walked and sang songs for a couple miles to the local
iglesia.
roads to an isolated part of the country. Along the way we saw fellow followers walking,
donkeys tied up and observing us curiously while chewing cud, and heard rather than
saw bottle rockets exploding well before the reached the heavens. Utility poles were
strung with white and yellow pennants, holey, allowing the wind to penetrate their thin,
flimsy bodies. About 100 people waited there, and I recieved looks of intrigue and
curiosity as the only guero there. Soon four men approached, shouldering a litter of
flowers and led by un padre. We walked and sang songs for a couple miles to the local
iglesia.
Here the devout took part in a two or three hour long ceremony while others,
including me, flocked to the play/cooking area away from the mass. Here I stirred a
kettle of pig parts and talked a lot to the curious, smart, ambitious ten year old brother
of my student. I met Santiago, who spoke a little English and celebrated his knowledge
a lot with me. He pointed in all directions and told me which major cities would be
encountered if we went as the crow flies. Given this orientation, he asked me to point to
China, Russia, Los Angeles, my home, and many other places. It was a proud time for
me because he wanted to know many English equivalents, and I was able to translate
for him. Poca a Poca is proving true, like I knew it would. What I thought was going to
be a drag ended up being a great experience. Classic cultural immersion.
including me, flocked to the play/cooking area away from the mass. Here I stirred a
kettle of pig parts and talked a lot to the curious, smart, ambitious ten year old brother
of my student. I met Santiago, who spoke a little English and celebrated his knowledge
a lot with me. He pointed in all directions and told me which major cities would be
encountered if we went as the crow flies. Given this orientation, he asked me to point to
China, Russia, Los Angeles, my home, and many other places. It was a proud time for
me because he wanted to know many English equivalents, and I was able to translate
for him. Poca a Poca is proving true, like I knew it would. What I thought was going to
be a drag ended up being a great experience. Classic cultural immersion.
Another week in the books, so let’s wrap it up randomly. Many of the English
-tion words translate easily into -cion words in Spanish (e.g. information and información),
yesterday I my way to surprise Hugo Dos, remember the archaeologist?, I encountered
him in the street and we started our search for my bike, in class we have our first exam
this week (we’ll review using Give or Take Jeopardy which involves more risk and
excitement than regular Jeopardy), I play too much MTG Arena (but at least it’s in
Spanish), I had my first scorpion the other day! First ever seen outside of a petshop,
he was eating a spider (I killed him with the ole Merell), and, finally, we have our exam
this week because a week from today is September 15th, the Mexican equivalent to the
4th of July, and I can’t wait for the celebration.
-tion words translate easily into -cion words in Spanish (e.g. information and información),
yesterday I my way to surprise Hugo Dos, remember the archaeologist?, I encountered
him in the street and we started our search for my bike, in class we have our first exam
this week (we’ll review using Give or Take Jeopardy which involves more risk and
excitement than regular Jeopardy), I play too much MTG Arena (but at least it’s in
Spanish), I had my first scorpion the other day! First ever seen outside of a petshop,
he was eating a spider (I killed him with the ole Merell), and, finally, we have our exam
this week because a week from today is September 15th, the Mexican equivalent to the
4th of July, and I can’t wait for the celebration.
Thanks for reading. See you next week.
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| My first scorpion, eating a spider :) |
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| Giant moth, 10 peso coin is about the size of a US quarter |
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| Cool shot during the procession |
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The beauty of Mexico |
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