Freedom!

So the swine-flu standfast was lowered on Thursday, which meant that we could take trips outside of our sites--freedom! The cities actually started coming back to life around Wednesday, as the Méxican government also lowered its alertness level. I believe that after the primary and secondary schools re-open on Monday, everything will be back to pseudo-normality.

Friday night we had the First (Annual) Peace Corps Pretty Night--following groups now have the burden of raising the bar! Some of the other volunteers who are going to rural areas felt like they were never going to be able to use their formal suits and dresses, and so they organized a fiesta for the occasion. Our country director graciously hosted the event at his amazingly beautiful house. Some of the staff also showed up, and it was a great time. One of the volunteers formally graduated with her MPA yesterday (she was allowed to leave her program early for Peace Corps), so we had a surprise mini-ceremony for her since she couldn´t be at her actual ceremony.

Since things have loosened up, on Saturday I headed out to San Miguel de Allende, the American retirement mecca of México. The city is famous for its hot springs, and somehow it has become the go-to place for American retirees to live. I saw license plates from Texas and Florida, and I heard more English on the streets than anywhere else in México so far. It was a bit hot out to really enjoy the hot springs, so I went to the Jardin Botánico El Charco Del Ingenio outside of town. It is a giant reserve for native flora and fauna, and it is famous for its cacti.



San Miguel has several central plazas with churches, which are architecturely very beautiful. Here is their most famous one, the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel.



Once I returned to Querétaro, I also finally made it into the Alameda, a nice, shady park in the southern part of the city. The park is surrounded by a fence with a rotating exhibit. Right now the exhibit includes photographs from the Sierra Gorda, the famous biosphere in México, to help raise awareness of environmental issues. The rumor I heard was that a Peace Corps volunteer was involved with this project.

First week in México

A picture of Querétaro is here. I think I have seen this fountain / statue in other blogs, and someone mentioned that it is a famous landmark in Querétaro. It is located in the historic central district.

We´ve had a busy first week in México, even though it was just a partial week. If later weeks are all this full, PST will be busy indeed! Throughout the many briefings, we have also had time to get to know our host families and other volunteers. Without going into too much detail, I will say that my host family is very nice, and I am the sixth language student that they have hosted. The first student they hosted was also a Wolverine, so I walked in to a house with a Michigan magnet on the fridge!



On Friday night, the Peace Corps office hosted a fiesta so that we could get to know the staffers, their families, and the other host families. There was a lot of good, home-cooked food. The picture here is of a dessert I had, rice with milk (like a rice pudding). In the corner, you can also see doughnuts! They had a couple of piñatas, some dancing, and musical chairs!



Saturday was our first language lesson, where we also got loaded down with some Spanish books to study from. It was interesting, and I am most likely in over my head. But it's a good challenge, and I am sure I will learn a lot. In the evening, a couple of us went to a fútbol game with one of the PC staff spouses. The local team is the Gallos (roosters), and they lost a heartbreaker 2-1. At the game, we split a snack (not sure of the name) that was like longer versions of the crispy chow-mein noodles you get in Chinese restaurants. They put salsa and lime on them for us (with flavoring was definitely the way to go). You can see them in the picture below, the long, stringy things in the back of the box.