Life back in the US of A

¡Hola amigos! Primero, necesito decirles "lo siento". Había mucho tiempo que no escribí aquí. Mi país es muy diferente ahora, o. . . soy un güero diferente. Jajaja. La segunda es la verdad. Ahora (después de mi tiempo en México) puedo ver todo en una manera diferente. Por ejemplo, ahora yo me da cuenta que los conductores norteamericanos son los peores del mundo. Jaja, o por lo menos los peores en la mayoría del mundo. Las calles aquí son muy grandes y todavía hay gente que tiene problemas. Pinche güeros, pero, soy uno de ellos. ¡Ay! Para ustedes que están leyendo este parte de mi blog, probablemente puedes identificar con el parte principal que está en ingles: la bondad y amistad autentica que existen en México. Muchos de mis amigos no pueden comprender lo que estoy diciendo en inglés (debajo de este parte) porque ellos no experimentaron este parte de la cultura Mexicana. Para ustedes que me comprenden (y todavía mi español necesita mucha ayuda, lo siento), quiero decirles que soy un diferente persona, un persona mejor y muchos no pueden comprender los cambios que ocurrieron en mi vida.

Hello friends, thank you for your patience. So much has happened since I left Mexico. First off was my flight back home. I'll make it quick, the flight was fine. I was excited to get back to the US, but at the same time tremendously sad to be leaving such a beautiful place filled with such warm people behind. I am very fortunate, first to be able to have this experience, but secondly because when I finally got off the plane in Columbus, my mother, father, sister, aunt, uncle, and 10 cousins were waiting to greet me. I don't know why, but I started crying. It was just the welcome that I needed. That brings me to a big point, thank you everyone who stayed in touch with me while I was gone. I was only gone 2 months, but it still meant a lot to me.

The next two weeks were extremely packed. I was home a total of two days. The first day being August 3rd when I flew in. I spent the night at home that night and then repacked because my family was camping. So, I went with them for a few days and then went to Columbus for a couple days to visit my friends. I was amazed at how much I felt at home being back at OSU. Up until that point, I felt like I was visiting another country, a country that was so familiar, but one in which I no longer fit. I was a little depressed that week (my first week back). The next week was worse though. Hanging out with my friends, unpacking and repacking, going camping, etc. all kept me busy which was great; however, my second week back started off kind of sour. We moved my sister into college for her freshmen year at Liberty University in Virginia. I had been feeling a little depressed, but mostly just isolated in that I would tell people about my trip or show them a picture or two, but I couldn't convey my actual experience. All I could share with them were facts, dates, places visited, etc. My program director explained it best when he said that when we see a picture from Guanajuato, we remember experiences, friends, smells, sounds, the weather, and a lot more; when someone else sees the same picture, they only see some colorful buildings or strangers in the picture. Anyways though, I already felt isolated and then we dropped my sister off. It was just weird. Obviously she was thrilled to be at college finally but a little sad to see her family leave. My parents and I are so happy for her and wish her the best, but I will not get to see her as often. I was having a lot of fun spending time with my sister before she left, telling her about my experiences, new friends, and hearing about her summer and her hopes and fears of college. And then she had to move to college my second week.

Again, I'm a very lucky person because I have an awesome group of friends who didn't fail to make me happy upon my visit to Columbus my second weekend. I think I will continue to feel isolated at times until I get back to my normal life when classes start on September 23rd or 24th. Also, some of the people on my program go to Ohio State, so I will be able to hang out with them and reminisce about our amazing and very eventful summer in the city of Guanajuato.

So how have I changed?

Well, all of my friends are saying that I am more laid back now. This is true, a lot of things that used to seem important to me (including be on time to a lot of things), no longer are. I will need to correct the punctuality thing though!

I no longer need to have plans with friends, but can rather just hang out. In Mexico, I spent three hours in a cafe, bored out of my mind with one of my Mexican friends. . . It was one of the most memorable three hours of my entire summer. Yes, we were bored, but we just enjoyed not doing anything and hanging out.

I now see exchange students in another light. I run into international students at OSU all the time and I've always respected them for overcoming a language barrier, but I had never thought about their adjustment to our culture, our food, etc. and their struggle to make friends. I guess I can better identify with what they are feeling by the 3rd week of being here in the US, a foreign country for them.

I think the last major change that I've noticed is my tolerance for closed-minded people. Being a student at The Ohio State University I've experienced the housing department's over emphasis on "Diversity" and I know that I should come back a more accepting person, but I haven't in one aspect. Before I left the US closed-minded people bothered me, but I would still hang out with them and it wouldn't be a big deal. Now, I can't stand to be around someone that chooses to be ignorant about every culture accept for their own. Growing up in a small town, I've seen ignorance at it's peak. I can handle this, because it is not their choice, but rather a lack of education or/and opportunity. I will admit, I am not a world traveler, I haven't had lots of opportunities to go abroad, but when I have had an opportunity, I went for (with my parents encouragement). I guess it just depends on how you are raised, but I know people from my hometown who have had the opportunity to travel, all expenses paid, but chose not to because they didn't want to leave the US.

I can't say how thankful I am that I have been able to have this experience. It was truly life-changing! I hope the people of Guanajuato, Mexico never lose their sense of community and ability to show love.

Lastly, I am going back to Guanajuato this December for 10 days. I couldn't resist! I will be buying my plane tickets at the end of September. If anyone wants to go down with me just shoot me an e-mail: stylerknauff@yahoo.com.

Estamos en contacto amigos!

I am still alive!

Hello amigos,

I will be updating this either tonight or tomorrow. I would like to do a few more posts about re-adjusting to the US.

My last day in Mexico

Hola amigos! I'm not sure what to think of this: my last in Mexico. Tonight, I'm extremely depressed about returning to the US; at the same time, I absolutely can't wait to see my closest friends and family. It seems like it would be perfect if I could go back to the US for a week, see everyone and then come back down here. My program director spoke to our group the other day about re-adjusting to American life. He said to expect depression, boredom, and a few other things. He said that while we may not realize it now, we have all changed a lot. I will agree, something is different, but I'm not sure what it is. I'm sure my friends and family will be able to peg it. I think they know me better than I know myself.

Something else my director told us was that obviously not everyone will be interested in hearing more than 2 mins about our trip. It will probably be like the first year of college thing where everyone asks "How's college going?" and all they really want to hear is "Good" from you. It's a part of our culture that I don't miss, but will have to become accustomed to again. Well, if you're reading this, then you are one of the very few who will actually be interested in hearing about things, although you've already heard the majority, and thank you for staying in touch! Obviously I had the creepy stalker thing installed on my blog so I can see where people are reading it from and little other facts like how they accessed the site. Whoever is in Lima, OH I would greatly appreciate to know who you are. The curiosity is killing me!!! I've really been surprised as to who has been following it and who hasn't. Luckily for me, all of my closest friends have kept in touch; I'm extremely blessed to have met the people that I have at OSU!!!

On that note, I would like to briefly talk about my roommate: John. We are complete opposites in I think every manner, yet we get along great. I've learned a lot from him though; because we are so opposite, he has presented the other side of things in everything: daily life, politics, poverty, religion, culture, etc. I am very proud to call him friend! How he puts up with me I don't know.

I'm EXTREMELY nervous to be seeing everyone again, and I don't know why. Especially nervous to see Corey and Sahil; I saw them everyday for the past year, and Sahil almost every day for the past two years. I've been gone for 8 weeks and haven't been able to talk to them on the phone very much.

This blog is pretty scattered, but it's because I have a million thoughts flying through my brain per second. I remember when I was getting ready to leave Tarangi told me that it would seem like I was only down here for 2 weeks. . . she was right. I don't know how 2 months flew by so quickly.

I've learned so much down here! One main thing though: I have a perfect life! I'm not bragging or anything, but from living down here and talking to so many other people, I really don't know more I could ask for. Things such as: having a house where every room has a theme and matches; having a good car; having job opportunities after college; having a cell phone; etc are all blessings now rather than expected. I think it was seeing the little children in the streets begging for money that really caused some change. There will be children of 4 years old just begging you for change or wanting to sell you some gum for a few cents. It's very sad! I can only imagine what their view of the world must be.

The picture above is of our dearest cat "Gato" sleeping in my bed again. Everytime our maid leaves our door open the cat finds my bed and decides to take a nap. Oh well, good thing I'm not deathly allergic to them or anything.

Well, it is very late and I'm going to actually get some sleep tonight! I have a TON of things to do tomorrow! I am going to keep updating my blog probably until school starts just so I can keep a journal of the changes I've noticed. Like I said, I am absolutely PETRIFIED to see everyone again. I feel like a different person, I think due to being away from everyone for 2 months. I'm thinking it may be that I feel more independent. Oh well, we will see shortly. I fly back in this Sunday at 5:30pm. I hope to see you all soon!!! I really appreciate you all keeping up with me and reading this blog, and yes, I know who most of you are based on your location, operating system, and how your accessing the site. Again, Thanks!!!

All my best,

Tyler

"Could I get some sal and limón please?"

Hola amigos! I don't know where to start for this week. I've done a lot, but feel like I've done nothing. I guess I've done everything but work on my final papers. Despite my procrastination, I've been able to see a lot of the city that I had not yet been able to tour yet. I've posted a ton of pics on Picasa, so you can click on the title of this blog and it will take you there.

This past 7 day period has been the first full week that I have not been sick since I got down here. I've been waking up everyday and telling Martha when I see, "Otra vez, no estoy enfermo hoy. No sé porque" (Once again, I'm not sick today and I don´t know why). To which she responded the other day, "¡Eres mexicano ahora!" (You're a Mexican now). Haha! I've been in such a good mood this week. I wish I could have adjusted to things a little quicker than 6 weeks, but better now than never.

I've done a lot of relaxing this week, in that my touring the city has consisted of going to certain points in the city to sit for a while and just chill and take pictures. I'm trying to put together a short video or powerpoint of my trip so I can summarize my 8 weeks in 5-10 minutes. That's what we call a short summary. Haha! I'm having problems running powerpoint with that many photos though -- it tends to lag. I'll figure out something.

I've posted a video below that I took today when we were trying to find a place to park the car. The video is pretty bumpy because there are very few paved roads here. They are all cobblestone streets which does not make for a smooth ride. The city is gorgeous for them though!


Today, John, Ray, Edgar, Belem, Mariana, and I went to the countryside for the afternoon. It was gorgeous, silent, and there was clean air! It was a nice change of pace and I've decided I would like to buy a house near Santa Rosa. The views and mountains are breathtaking! I'm thinking that land there would be pretty cheap as well. I asked Ray to check into it. Obviously I can't buy anything right now, but within 10 years, I would like to think I could.

I can't believe I only have a week left. Time has flown by -- I feel like I arrived two weeks ago. Although, by the end of my first week here, I felt totally comfortable and at home in the city and I'm not sure why.

I've made a few amazing friends down here and I really don't want to leave them behind. The friends that I went to Michoacan with have kept in contact and want to come to Columbus to visit me. They probably will too. Ray is the other Mexican friend I've made. We're a lot alike so it feels like I've known him for a lot longer than I have. I have at least 3 different homes that I can stay in when I return to Mexico. I really want to come back in December, but I also really want to go to India. Unfortunately, I will probably not have any excess cash lying around to do either. I am going to go on spring break this year, so I'm thinking that would be a great time to bring a few friends with me to Guanajuato (and maybe we could go to the beach for a weekend too down here).

Well, I fly in this next Sunday to Columbus. I'm thinking Chipotle for dinner that day. While I know that I should be craving a burger or something, I'm def. craving my Chipotle, and no, nothing down here tastes anything like it. Haha! Well, except for the strong onions, but I never get that on my burrito. Well amigos, I hope to see many of you very very soon! Cuidate.

Michoacan: Morelia, Patzcuaro, and Janitzio

Hello, I got back last night from Michoacan, again. Haha! This time though I was with my group. We only took a 2 day excursion, but they tried to fit too much into those two days. The first day we toured cathedrals and convents in Michoacan and parts of Guanajuato. It was quite boring because no-one could hear our professor talking because he liked to whisper. The two or three people that did hear him still didn't get much info; therefore, no-one knew what cathedral we were seeing, it's significance, or why we were even there. The cathedrals were pretty, but that's all we knew.

On a very different note, I had two full meals both Saturday and Sunday, had snacks in between, and was not sick. It was an AMAZING weekend in that respect. I got back home and my friends were like, "Why in the world are you so happy?" I explained that I am normally a happy person (although I may complain a little) but that when you are constantly sick and don't eat enough, you just aren't just as happy. Mondays and Thursdays are the days when I usually get sick and I am not sick now, so this week is looking pretty good!

It's about 80 degrees, sunny, and beautiful here in Guanajuato today. The sky is clear, so I think I may walk around a little and take some pictures of the city.

I'm starting to feel the crunch for finals next week. I don't have any final exams, but a do have a 10 page "Politica" paper to write by Thursday, and 3 more papers to write by next Thursday. The work load really hasn't been bad though, so I can't complain. I've had a lot of free time to explore and hang out with friends; however, everyone would still prefer a little less work.

Well, lunch is almost done, so I am going to go. I will be back in the US in 12 short days. It will be bittersweet. ¡Nos vemos pronto amigos!

Bar Fight and Toxic Pasta

Bueno, I hope you all are doing well! I will be going to Morelia, Patzcuaro, and Janitzio this weekend (all cities in Michoacan). Okay, so first I will clear up the bar fight, it really wasn't a bar fight. I got that gash by falling walking into my hotel in Uruapan, Michoacan this past weekend. They had a tiled patio, it was raining, and my shoes didn't have any traction. It's not really that bad, but it looks horrible, so I've been telling people I won in a bar fight. . . haha. . . no-one obviously believes me. So that has been a nice conversational piece when things get quiet at a table. The toxic pasta comes into play today and yesterday. Yesterday I had an amazing Spaghetti Bolognesa; however, it may have made me sick. I really don't know, but thinking about it makes me nauseous. Oh well, it was worth it! I had a Mu Tai Pan white tea with it. I can't believe I just found this cafe and I've been here for 1.5 months.

Yesterday John, Ray, and I went to La Presa (the dam) which is where I took the picture above on the right. It was peaceful and gorgeous! If you enlarge the picture you may be able to see the lighthouse on the mountain, about in the middle of the picture. There was also a garden near the dam. Well, that's about it for my week. My friends and I have gone out a lot this week, but we've had a lot of fun.

I can't believe that in only 15 days I will be back in the US. I'm very excited, but I'm really going to miss the city and the people here. I was telling my mom that I'm going to have to get accustomed to the rudeness of the US again: inconsiderately slow drivers, not saying hi to random people on the street, and not feeling extremely welcome in any and every place of business. I think I'll be able to adjust back again, but I have gotten used to holding doors open for people and being very polite to everyone I come across. OSU is I think the complete opposite. Haha! Well, I am going to Michoacan this weekend again, but with my group. I will probably post on here on Monday evening. Until then, cuidate!

Uruapan, Michoacan

Hola, I'm still alive! Haha! I went to Uruapan, Michoacan this weekend with some new friends. (Uruapan is a city in the state of Michoacan). My friend Erik invited me to go to celebrate one of his friend's birthday, Viridiana's. Everyone was extremely nice and wouldn't let me pay for anything: hotel, gas, food, etc. One of Erik's friends had a new H3 Hummer; I hadn't been in one yet, I thought it might be a little more cramped on the inside because it's a tiny version of the H2, but it was quite spacious, and rode very smoothly at 95 MPH.

The photo is one I took while we were probably going about 85 MPH. Yes, two cars passing two others at the same time. I really thought I was going to die for the first two hours of the drive, but after that I became accustomed to Mexican freeway driving. I couldn't believe how nice and considerate people are on the highways here. In the US, you will have someone driving 10 MPH under the speed limit in the far left lane, not thinking of anyone else in the world except for themselves, but here, when you approach a car from behind, they move over to the curb so you can pass them. I told Erik that when passing people in the US, sometimes the other car will speed up a bit. While this isn't the majority of cases, it happens too frequently, and ridiculously slow driving happens all too frequently as well.

But enough with my driving soap box. Haha! We stopped at a restaurant on Sunday afternoon to eat lunch/dinner (what John and I call "Linner"). The restaurant only had soda, pork rinds, and carnitas pork. I actually tried the carnitas pork, but I could barely get it down. I don't like pork, but the restaurant was the cleanest. It was in the open air, no hair nets, no gloves, dirty floors, a dog running around, and tons of freakin flies. I'm used to things being different, but between the pork and the dog and flies, I wasn't too hungry. Everyone was so kind and offered to take me to McDonalds, but I bought a banana at the store across the street and all was well.

It was very nice to ride in a car on a highway. It made me feel more at home; I guess because I love paying for gas in the US and feel the need to drive all the time. Haha! I really miss driving, and I never thought I would say that. This weekend was the first time I got really homesick, and I know why. I was away from everything familiar. I know Erik, but not as well as most of my friends; we were outside of Guanajuato; I had never met any of Erik's friends; there was no-one to help me if I got stuck with my Spanish; and I didn't have my computer, so I didn't have contact with anyone. I told Erik on Sunday that I was really homesick and he asked me how long I had been down here: 5 weeks. I guess I'm not doing too bad to have made it this far.

I always get hung up on how to say "I miss ____" in Spanish because it translates to "____ is very distant to me" or something near that. When I'm speaking Spanish I always have to pause before saying that. Haha! I learned a lot of vocabulary this weekend, including slang. It was an amazing feeling to go away for a few days with people who only spoke Spanish and not have any English speakers nor a dictionary nearby. I thought that I would be extremely intimidated, but everyone was extremely patient when I didn't know a word for something, like "stem" of a fruit. That's not a word I use often.

I'm now only 19 days away from leaving. I can't believe how fast time has gone. It seems like I've only been here for 2 weeks, but at the same time, it feels like I've lived here for years. I've become very comfortable in the city. I've made friends down here and am definitely going to come back down to visit! I've been fortunate to make friends with people from Mexico City, Irapuato, Leon, Guanajuato, and London (England), but Ray doesn't really count for an Englishman anymore. Haha! (Hope he doesn't read this).

Well, I am exhausted and am going to take a siesta. Man, I absolutely love many things here in Mexico and siestas are one of them. Too bad not everyone down here still takes them. Oh well, have a great week. I'm going to Michoacan this weekend, but with my group this time. It should be fun!

¡Estamos en contacto!

Mi Cumpleaños y La Vida en Guanajuato

Hola amigos, I hope this post finds you doing well! I haven't really done anything too interesting this week, but I thought I would briefly talk about some of the differences in life down here in Guanajuato, Mexico. First off though, the picture above is of Jessica and I celebrating our birthday here in Guanajuato. We went to an amazing Italian restaurant here in Guanajuato with a few friends. The restaurant, hearing from our friends that it was our birthday, served us Nutella Crepes. They were delicious. I am very surprised as to how many people on my program have never heard of the most amazing topping/spread invented: Nutella. One girl on my program wrote a note about Nutella on her blog, and some of her friends commented saying that she needed to bring some back to the states. Oh well, glad she finally found it. Anyways, the Italian restaurant has tons of French doors that open up to balconies that look onto Teatro Juarez and Jardin de la Union, both favorite spots for everyone, including the people who live here. La Jardin de la Union (Union Garden) is a favorite spot for young people to hang out. There are also a few restaurants that have outdoor seating where different bands will come by and sing to you. If that is not your thing, you have a portrait painted for $20 by two very good artists. It's a beautiful place to spend an evening!

Between my turkey bacon and eating out, I am staying alive. Haha! The food down here is good; however, I knew going into this program that I didn't like Authentic Mexican food, and getting down here, the food of Guanajuato is more bland than even the Authentic Mexican food I had had. The Mexican food I had tasted was from Oaxaca, which is in the south of Mexico. I think to come down here and live on this food is hard for many Americans in that we are not used to having a "staple" food. My host-mother couldn't believe this. She was talking to my roommate the other day and she pretty much said, in translation, "It will be a cold day in hell when I don't put corn tortillas on the table for a meal." Haha! She's hilarious. But she was asking him what our staple food in the US is, he obviously responded to her saying that we didn't have one. She couldn't believe it. He said, well, maybe bread, but then again, we have a million different types that we eat. We don't eat one type every day. So this is why I say it would be hard for an American to live on the food in a lot of countries in that we are not used to having a staple. The other three guys I am living with are having a very difficult time getting the rice down now. After having it almost every day for the past five weeks, it's getting pretty disgusting. If anyone was/is to travel down here for a week, I would definitely recommend only eating the traditional food down here because there are a lot of good options and different tastes especially if you love authentic Mexican food. So yes, I still do not like the food, but I'm not so pessimistic about it. Haha!

I am very fortunate to be living with the host-family that I am. Many of my friends are not getting enough to eat. Two of my friends are living with my Martha's sister (by the way, pronounced "Marta") and they said that they will ask for more food at dinner and their host-family will say either that they don't have anymore or they will just give them a straight no. After the dishes are done, the kitchen is locked so they don't have access to food. Other people are having similar experiences with food in that their families will not give them much food and refuse to let them make anything. My host-mother, Martha, is the exact opposite. She's been trying to fatten us up. When we got down here, she thought we were already too thin. Her family is not fat, but they are not bean poles. John said that he saw her put more oil in our beans the other day, anyway she add a few more calories. She's funny, she always puts a ton of food on our plates for lunch (more than a lot of people can eat) and then asks us why we couldn't finish and why we can't eat more. We are also allowed to cook anything we want whenever we want. She took her youngest son (Carlos who is 21) to the doctor a few years ago and asked the doctor what he could give her to fatten him up. The doctor checked him over and said nothing was wrong and she responded saying that he was too thin. Not being satisfied with that doctor's opinion, she went to another doctor who said the same thing, but added that the problem was not with Carlos, but with her. He told her that people are allowed to be really thin. Haha.

The police have taken a little getting used to. They all carry M-16's. It was very intimidating at first because in the US our police forces do not typically carry machine guns around the city on a normal day. I think because there is a huge drug problem down here, the police are making their presence known. Police cars down here don't exist, they instead have Jeep-like vehicles where two to four cops will be standing in the back armed and loaded. Every time I see them drive by me I start to wonder where the war is, or if there has been a prison break.

We are finally in the rainy season down here. It has rained at least twice for every day this week, and when it rains the streets flood (except for the main ones). With all of the hills and not the best drainage, you will face literal rivers coming at you if you try to walk up a hill.

Well, I am finishing my fifth week down here. It's hard to believe that the longest I have ever been outside the US was for nine days in London and now I've completed more than 30 days in Mexico. I realized about a two weeks ago that I'm not on a 7-week program like I thought I was, but an 8-week program. That was surprising, I don't know how I never realized that. But I have 22 days and 23 hours before I land at O'hare on August 3rd. Time is flying by down here. It feels like I've been here for 2 weeks. I realized last night when I asked for lime and started putting a ton of it in my tea, that I have become accustomed to a few things down here, one of them being tasting lime in everything from tea to chips to beans.

Well, I may or not be going to the state of Michoacan this weekend. I will know this evening. Either way I will probably be posting on Sunday. Hope you all have a great weekend! Eat a great salad for me! Haha! I'll talk to you later.

This post is dedicated to whoever is reading my blog in Lima, you check my blog like every day. I hope you are enjoying reading about my adventures! (Whoever you are. The curiosity is killing me. Haha!)

Really? That's what you call a fiesta?

Hola! I just got back from Puerto Vallarta this morning around 12:30am. We were on the bus for 10.5 hours because we got stuck behind an accident in the mountains on our way back. Anyways, the weekend was awesome! The food was great; I had fresh vegetables every day with every meal. It was great. Saturday was my 21st birthday; however, it wasn't until 1pm that I realized that it was my birthday. Ha-ha! I had a Swedish massage that morning and went parasailing that afternoon. That night, I (for some unknown reason) became sick, and am still a little sick today. Therefore, Saturday night, I just sat on the beach and watched the sun set. It was beautiful and extremely relaxing because hardly anyone was out there.

So I may have had sun poisoning, but I'm not sure. Sunday, my stomach was hurting, I had a headache and a fever, I was dizzy, and was very nauseous. Luckily though, today I feel much better. But to top things off on Sunday, we stopped at what I guess was a restaurant on our way home. They had dirt floors and apparently did not understand the concept of vegetarianism. I asked them what they had that was vegetarian and she pointed out the Camarones section. I remember hearing that word and remember not ordering that at a restaurant a few weeks ago, but she assured me that it was not meat. The waitress left and I asked a friend what Camaron was. Turns out, it's shrimp. I called the waitress back over and explained that indeed, shrimp is a meat in that it at one time has lived. She was like, oh, I'm sorry. How about some fish then? I couldn't believe it. I then repeated myself and assured her that fish live as well and are therefore meat. She then said that they had vegetable salad. I was relieved. Thank God! I said. After ordering my Pepsi for the fifth time, I finally received it and got my salad as well. The salad was about 60% onions, 20% cucumbers, and the rest lettuce, avocado, and three tomato slices. As you may recall, I hate onions after my fiasco a few weeks ago.

Needless to say, being sick and without food on Sunday did not make it a good day, but my Friday and Saturday were both AMAZING! And I got a really good deal on the trip.

Vegetarianism down here is a foreign concept. Several of my friends' host families, knowing they are vegetarian still cook soups with meat in them, use beef/bacon fat to cook with, etc. I'm glad that my reason for not eating much meat is just because I don't like it. Several of my friends on this program do not eat meat for religious reasons; they are having a very tough time!

We moved to the main campus of the Universidad de Guanajuato today (which is a 3 minute walk from my house rather than a 15 minute cab ride. The main campus is beautiful and it was a nice change of scenery. Several people are having to commute a ways to get here, but they will get over it I suppose. Two of the girls were saying that they have to walk 20 minutes to get to the University and 30 minutes to get back home (because it's mostly up hill). I told them they should just take a cab back, because it would only cost them $1 a piece. They said they didn't mind walking because there were a few shady areas where they could take a rest. I told them that it probably will cost them more to energize their bodies rather than paying for a cab. Oh well, I'm not walking that far.

Something that I found fascinating, and is the reason for this blog's title, is the picture of Mexico that many people may have of Mexico when visiting a resort area such as Puerto Vallarta. Our hotel had a "Mexican Fiesta" for everyone at the resort (where there were tons of white people). Needless to say, the decorations, the food, and some of the music are definitely not typical of Mexico. They may have been typical of Mexico in the 50's, but definitely not now. There were vendors on the beach selling supposedly "authentic" Mexican attire and jewlery; however, the only people that I've seen wearing any of that are obnoxious white or Asian tourists and some of the indigenous people. It was interesting to see the differences between the Mexico I've come to know, and the Mexico portrayed in the resort areas. I like the Mexico I've come to know much better (except for some of the food). Ha-ha!

I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing this week. Right now, I am dying to take a siesta, because I have become way to accustomed to taking them; therefore, I am going to go and sleep for an hour.

¡Nos hablamos pronto!

Mexico: Neoliberal Globalization and Crisis

Bueno, I hope this post finds you doing well! This week has been very un-eventful in that I've been working on homework all week; therefore, the picture above is nothing new, but pretty cool. If you click on it it will expand and you can see the panorama of Teotihuacan from atop the Piramide del Sol.

My political science course may very well be the death of me, or at least the balding of me. Last week we had to write a 5 page paper over an article titled "Expansion del Capitalismo Monopolista en Mexico 1940 a 1970" which in English is (Expansion of the Monopolistic Capitalism in Mexico from 1940 to 1970). I doubt I would understand that same paper in English; nonetheless, I had to write about it. This week's 5 page essay was over an article titled "Mexico: Globalizacion Neoliberal y Crisis: Perspectivas al Futuro" which in English is "Mexico: Neoliberal Globalization and Crisis: Perspectives for the Future". (I´m not thinking I need to translate these titles though! Ha-ha!) It was 75 pages of glorious economic and political theory. This class definitely makes me appreciate my Art History and Semiotics of Cinema classes.

Also, this week has made me look forward to this weekend even more! I am leaving this evening at 11:30pm to go to a resort in Puerto Vallarta. I am so excited. I am not going to take my laptop because it's just another thing to worry about when traveling; however, I will be back Sunday night and will put some picture up. We got a great deal on our weekend beach vacation because we booked it through a local travel agency. I realized that it is much cheaper to travel if you use a local Mexican travel agency, pay in pesos, and speak Spanish. My whole weekend (transportation to and from, meals, and hotel) is costing me $265. Yes, it's AMAZING! I checked the hotel out online and it's great, and right on the beach. But anyways, I'll post pictures on Sunday night.

On Monday night I went out with a few friends to a Karaoke bar. It was a lot of fun. I've never done Karaoke, but I guess there is a first time for everything. I posted pictures on Picasa with descriptions; therefore, you can get all of the excitement on there rather than me rambling on here.

Regresaré al EEUU en una mes. ¡Que emocionado! (I will be back in the US in one month. How exciting!)

Adios amigos

Teotihuacan and Mexico City

"Bienvenidos a Teotihuacan, la ciudad de los dioses." I had to give a speech about the pyramid on top of the pyramid for my art class. I wanted to start out with that line "Welcome to Teotihuacan, the city of the gods," but I definitely didn't. The speech went alright, but my professor recorded it zoomed so that just my face was showing. It was intimidating!

We went to Mexico City this weekend and had a great time; however, we only spent two days in the city and the third day in Teotihuacan. Mexico City is the second largest city in the world, and two days is not enough to even get to know Columbus, and it's small. All in all though, I saw a lot for the time that I was there.

Teotihuacan was AMAZING! The picture above is of me in front of the Piramide del Sol (Pyramid of the Sun). It is the third largest pyramid in the world (based on volume). 2nd place is the Great Pyramid in Giza, and 3rd is another pyramid in Mexico. The base of the Piramide del Sol is the same size as the pyramid in Egypt; however, this one is about half as short. I have learned a ton about ancient Mexico and it was really cool to see everything in real life.

I have posted a lot of pictures on Picasa from my weekend. I put descriptions on most every pictures, so it's easier to see what all I did this past weekend if you go on there. If you click on the title of this post, it will take you there.

It was very weird to be coming back to Guanajuato from Mexico City and feeling as though I was pseudo-coming back home. Well, I'm going to go. Me and some of my friends from the program, as well as a few new Mexican friends, are going to a cafe or something.

Nos hablamos pronto!

Tortillas, Cebollas, Queso, y Arroz

Bueno,

I hope everyone is doing well! I am happy to say that Mexico no longer hates me, or rather I no longer have a pessimistic view of the country. I am no longer sick; however, I still cannot eat tortillas, onions, cheese, or rice. My host-mother said that I was still psychologically ill, but she's fine with that. Ha-ha! She said she understands why I can't bring myself to eat the above foods; therefore, she has been making other things for me. I had a dish with onions in it three days ago, and after two bites, I just about had to run to the restroom. So, yesterday she made a pasta dish with spaghetti, butter, and spices, and lentil soup. I had Subway for lunch, but ate the spaghetti dish and lentil soup for dinner. She told John and I, (in Spanish) "I wake up every morning and think, Oh Jesus, what I am going to cook these poor boys?" We told her not to worry, but she's constantly worrying about us eating enough.

The picture above is me at the supermarket after having found Turkey Bacon. I told my host-mother, Martha, the other day that I am in fact not a complete vegetarian, that I do eat a few meats. Explaining why I don't like certain cheeses and meats was quite a trip. It's hard enough to explain in English; for my Spanish explanation, I grabbed a dictionary and started saying what I did like to eat (as far as meats and cheeses) and the reasons why. I then told her about my love for Turkey Bacon. She had never heard of it nor had the two guys from Texas. They thought I was lying and that it was impossible. To prove them wrong, I went to the Mall, my only chance for yellow cheeses, soy-milk, tofu, whole grain bread, and last but not least, turkey bacon. Sure enough, they had it. After telling some of my friends about my adventure, I was surprised by how many people are not familiar with turkey bacon. (And they do have turkeys here in Mexico, something that surprised me.)

Well . . . enough about food. I do have a life down here besides food, believe it or not. Not much has happened since Sunday, but I do have big plans for the weekend. We are going to Mexico City on Friday and staying there until Sunday morning. Upon leaving Mexico City we are going to Teotihuacan, and ancient city with two pyramids. The city, at its height, had a population larger than any other city in the world at the time, including Rome. Quite amazing! I will take plenty of pictures.

I have updated my online photo album again. Now you can see parts of the house where I'm staying, the mummy museum, and other things. If you click on the title of this blog post, it will take you there. So, I have this really creepy thing on here where I can see data on whose visiting my blog. I can't see individual names or specific locations, but I can see cities where people are from and things like that. It's pretty cool, because for the most part, I know who is reading it; however, there are a few cities that have thrown me off. So, if you live in one of the following areas, if you would send me an email or post a comment, I would greatly appreciate. If not, then I'll just go crazy with curiosity. Ha-ha. Here they are:

Lima, OH
Westerville, OH
Circleville, OH
Medina, OH
Sandusky, OH
Henderson, MI
Fort Worth, TX
Flemington, NJ
Newburgh, IN
Distrito Federal, Mexico


Yeah, it's kind of creepy, but being able to see people checking it makes me know that I'm not writing this for the sake of just writing it.

Hope you have a great week and weekend. I will hopefully post again on Sunday night or Monday.

All my best,

Stephen "Esteban" Tyler Knauff

El Cristo Rey (Christ the King)

Bueno amigos,

I hope everyone is doing well! I had a great opportunity the other day to go to see El Cubilete, which is the Cristo Rey (Christ the King) statue. It´s one of two in the world and stands 65 ft tall on top of one of the highest peaks in the area. The other statue of Jesus is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and I believe it is twice the size. If you click on the pictures to your left, they will open in another window where you can see them better. The views from the monument are breathtaking. You can see three cities and the airport where I flew into the area. Underneath the statue of Jesus is a beautiful chapel. Attached to the ceiling running the circumference of the room is a huge crown of thorns and in the middle of the room is an altar. When we were there there were two nuns singing and praying. I´m not sure when they hold protestant services up there, but it would be awesome to attend one. I wanted to take a picture of the chapel, but they have signs up saying that is a holy place dedicated to God and that visitors should be quite, respectful, and not take photographs.

Not only was the place great because it was silent and dedicated to Jesus, but no-one was smoking. Haha! It´s nice to get some fresh air every once in a while. Everyone smokes down here. I´m tolerating it because it´s normal; however, in the US I definitely do not tolerate anyone smoking around me.

I´ve created an online photo album using Picasa. I will start putting photos on there in that they upload very fast. It takes forever to put photos up on here. If you click on the title of this blog, it will take you to my online photo album.

¡Estamos en contacto!

Guanajuato, por Carlos y Eric

Hello,
I finally figured out how to shrink the videos of Guanajuato that Carlos and Eric took. So far, I have the first two up on youtube. (Unless you speak Spanish, you may not be able to understand the jokes and humor, but it´s still a great representation of Guanjuato).

Parte I:

Parte II:

¿Vas a morir Esteban?

Yes, that is what my host-mother has been asking me recently, "Are you going to die Stephen?" I just keep saying, it's possible. I'm actually a lot better today, but the past few days have been absolutely horrible. I'm not sure what made me sick, but something definitely did. Unfortunately, because I got sick on Wednesday, everything that I ate that day makes me nauseous just thinking about it. This includes the staples of the Mexican diet: corn tortillas, rice, onions, and cheese; it also includes a staple of the American diet: French fries. My host-mother drugged me up yesterday and I definitely felt better, but today I was still feeling nauseous. She recommended going to see a doctor, but after my lunch of Tomato-esque pasta-filled soup and two tomatoes, I feel better. She says that I'm probably getting nauseous thinking about food because I'm afraid to eat again. I told her what foods were making me nauseous and she about passed out. I think she's panicking because I pretty much ruled out all Mexican foods. Haha! She said I'll start eating more and more food slowly. Hopefully that will work well.

John and I wanted to go to El Cubilete (the Cristo Rey statue) today; however, after waiting for a bus for 45 mins, we left. We got back to the house, Martha (our host-mother) said that the bus runs every hour. Oh well, hopefully we will see it tomorrow.

The picture above is a view out the window from the kitchen table at night. Now you can't see it, but to the left, on the roof of another house is a dog that never stops barking. I am really trying to figure out how to kill it, but haven't come up with any good ideas yet. If you have any suggestions, just let me know. I think that anything that barks that much must have a really bad life, and therefore I would be doing it a favor. Haha! Okay, maybe not, but if you were living here, you would definitely be agreeing with me.

The house is extremely quite today. Carlos and Mariana are in Baja California on the beach with their father, Mario and Brian (two American students from Texas) are on a trip to Michoacan, and the TV has been off; therefore, no Telenovelas are playing.

I am starting to experience (what I will call) American Culture withdraw. I absolutely love the city, the people, and most things; however, the food is where I'm experiencing a culture withdraw. I think when I return to the US, the most Mexican food I will eat will be Chipotle (which is a far cry from the real deal). Of course, that's based on how I'm feeling now, so hopefully my opinion will change. Because I've been sick and no food has been settling well, I've not only been craving American food, but also everything else seems worse. My bed isn't as comfortable as it used to be, the shower isn't as hot, the hills are steeper and harder to climb, there are more smells in the tunnels, etc. etc. . .

ANYWAYS, despite my pessimistic view of this country right now, the city is still beautiful, the people friendly, and my host-family AMAZING! Most people call getting sick down here Montezuma's revenge, but I assure you, my sickness is not like that. I had all of that business the first week. I may be on Tlaloc's revenge now. I don't know.

The temperature today reached about 85 degrees Fahrenheit today and everyone in the city is about ready to die. One of my taxi drivers today said that it NEVER, NEVER gets this hot. Haha. I told him that in Ohio it's very common during the summer to go above 90, and with a lot of humidity. I then asked him if he had ever visited the US, but that was a stupid topic after telling him how much hotter it is. Oh well.

My roomate and I have determined that I would do fine living in a lot of countries, as long as I still had my American food. Unfortunately, different food is part of living abroad.

I hope everyone is doing great back home. Send me an email and let me know how things are going for you. Corey keeps me updated on news pretty well. The news down here is slightly different. We hear about major events all over the world, but it focuses on more local events (obviously); therefore, I haven't heard which houses in Columbus caught on fire last night, or updates on the price of gas. Haha! But seriously, send me an email if anything interesting happens: stylerknauff@yahoo.com.

Take care y estamos en contacto!

Stephen (Esteban) Tyler Knauff

Shoes, Spiders, and Scorpions

Above, is a picture of part of the shoe mall in Leon. It has 67 shoe stores. Leon is about 45 minutes away, so we made it a day trip. We took a bus there; that was a cultural experience. First, a man tried to sell us some kind of herbal remedy for your muscles (which I think it was just icy-hot). After he gave his 20 min speech (during which I don't think he took a breath), a man started playing a guitar and singing. It was actually pretty relaxing.

We also went to the Plaza Mayor which was the main mall for Leon. It was huge, and extremely nice. They even have an ice rink there. We ate at a restaurant called "Antares" which was beautiful. They had a grand piano and a violinist playing in the middle of the restaurant while we ate. It was very classy, but still casual-esque dining. My bill (after an appetizer, entree, lime tea, and tip) was $15; however, the prices throughout the rest of the mall were about the same as any US mall. Hugo Boss still costs about 300 US dollars for a pair of jeans, and the Forever 21 type stores had similar prices as well. I ended up getting some amazing shoes there though for $40 and a pair of nice jeans for $30, so I guess clothes are cheaper there, just not 10:1 cheaper.

On Friday night I met up with one of the guys that I had been talking to from here on Facebook. He, his girlfriend, and three other friends took John and I to a Karoke Bar where they sang some Mexican songs. It was hilarious because they weren't that good, but they didn't care. They tried to get John and I to sing a song in English, but all the bar had were songs from The Beatles and Madonna. Needless to say, we declined. After that we went to Bacardi Lounge which is a really cool place where tons of college students hang out. Everyone dresses up very stylishly and they have khaki sofas with plasma screen TV's everywhere with good music. It's really weird, the center of the place has wood floors, and then concrete floors around that, and finally sand-like gravel outside that. It's very different, but a lot of fun. Bodys (the guys from Facebook), his girlfriend, and another guy left early because they were tired. John, Juan Carlos, Andres, and I stayed behind and had a blast. Andres and Juan Carlos are from Mexico City, so when we go there at the end of June, they are going to show us around.

Today, my host brothers Carlos and Eric rode on Carlos' motorcycle through Guanajuato and videotaped the whole thing. I watched most of it today and it was hilarious. I'm going to post clips of it on youtube, but I'm going to restrict access, so I will let you know how to view the videos and when they are posted. The videos show you the mall, the tunnels, where I am living, who I'm living with, and a lot of the city. While you won't be able to understand the jokes in Spanish, they are still fun to watch.

There are some things down here that I am having to adjust too. It's not all fun and games. Haha! Almost everyone smokes, everywhere. It's really weird to go to restaurants and have people smoking. John wanted to smoke while we were waiting to re-join our group at the Plaza Mayor and he couldn't smoke inside the mall because he said it felt weird. Haha! It's amazing how quickly everyone has become accustomed to not smoking indoors in public places. Several people from my program have scorpions in their homes. One person says they have to check their beds at night because they will sometimes crawl into it during the day. Two unfortunate girls in my program found a tarantula in their room on Monday. They took a picture of it, but I don't have a copy of it. They said they put a hat over the spider, but a paper under it and put it outside. The next morning, their host-mother said it was still on the patio, so she took a stick and killed it. That's something else, John and I have been joking that Mexican women with sticks are dangerous. Last night we were walking home and saw a woman hit a car with a stick to get them to stop and talk. Apparently they were friends, or you just don't mess with a women with a stick.

I'm also realizing that Mexicans are amazing drivers. They drive like crazy, but they get to their destinations without accidents. I don't know how people drive in this city. Some of the streets (which are all mostly one way) are so narrow that you have to put your back against the wall when a car comes, so they can fit through. You will be able to see the streets when I get the video posted.

So, I've been desperately craving some kind of American food recently. They have an Applebees here, but no one is really wanting to go. My host parents (Martha and Eduardo) were out visiting family today, so she called and told us to order a pizza. We were all pretty excited, until it got here. It was good, but they put sooooo many toppings on them. On top of that, the pizza (which was a large here, but a medium in the US) cost $19 (US dollars). That just seems steep to me. I can go to downtown Guanajuato and get a full dinner at a tiny street restaurant for $3.50. Needless to say, the pizza just didn't taste like American pizza. Oh well, maybe I'll get Applebees soon. Priyanka (a girl on my program) said her host family took her to Applebees and she said that the restaurant was cleaner than any one she had ever been too. She also said that they ordered quesidillas and her host family said that they had way too much cheese on them. They use a lot of cheese here so that was surprising. Well, I'm going to go for now. I've got to do some homework for tomorrow.

¡Adios y estamos en contacto!

Animal Sounds and "Is That Soap or Hair Gel?"

I just finished lunch and have some time so I thought I would update my blog. Martha and Carlos ate lunch with us today and we got on the topic of animal sounds. It all started with chickens: she didn't believe that in English we say "Cok-a-doodle-doo". Here they say "ki-ki-ri-ki-ki". We covered everything from horses, cats, dogs, cows, pigs. Some were the same, many were different.
So the other part of this blog's title refers to a fun experience I had a few days ago. Obviously many things here are very different, from food to toiletries, so on Sunday, Monday and the beginning of Tuesday, I would use the restroom and use the clear gel soap because there wasn't any other soap in the bathroom. Come to find out, after asking my host-parents, I was using hair gel to wash my hands. I can't complain, it smelled great and washed off easily. When I asked my host-parents, they laughed and said it was hair gel. I felt like a complete idiot. Oh well, part of the learning process.
I am planning on going with a few friends to Leon on Saturday. It's the leather and shoe capitol of Mexico. They have a mall that only has shoe stores, and about 70 of them. We're all excited to get to buy leather jackets and shoes for low prices.
The picture above is one that I took of the city the other evening. If you click on any of my pictures on here, it will show you a larger version. I'm starting to get used to having to speak in Spanish. I bought a cell phone and signed up for service yesterday, that was a trip. I definitely did not know a lot of "cellphone" vocabulary but I managed. I'm also starting to get used to getting all of my news in Spanish. We came across an American sitcom that was in English with Spanish subtitles yesterday; it was a blast! Well, I am going to go for now. ¡Hasta lluego amigos!

El Agua Fria y Mi Nueva Amiga

Hola amigos,
I'm in Guanajuato and just finished lunch about 30 minutes ago (they eat lunch from 2-4p). I guess I'll start with getting to Guanajuato. After being delayed for an hour at the airport in Columbus, I flew into Midway. I had four hours to still get to O'hare, but it proved to be extremely stressful. I packed too much to take the subway or the "L", and a taxi was going to cost me around $65, so, I ended up going with a guy who is a junior in high school that I chatted with while waiting in Columbus. He had met a middle-aged woman and her mother on the plane where they offered him a ride to a bus station to get to O'hare. So, he invited me and our journey began. I rode the shuttle from the woman's hotel to her hotel where she drove us a block away to a bus stop. We were pulling in when the bus was leaving, so we got a quick dinner and then finally got on the bus and made it to O'hare, only to find out that my flight was delayed until 3:45 (it was supposed to take off at 2:30). At around 3:15, they delayed our flight until 5:00p and switched gates. At 4:30, they delayed my flight again to 5:15. I was finally in the air and was told that we had to make a stop in Monterrey. So. . . we stopped in Monterrey and then finally made it to Guanajuato at around 10:30p. My family was one of the last to arrive to the airport so I was getting worried that they wouldn't come and get me. BUT, they did and they were so kind!
After being on the road for 20mins, we arrived in Guanajuato. The streets here barely fit a small car and they go straight up and straight down with 90 degree turns everywhere. We drove through a few tunnels underneath the city as well. They are AMAZING! We pulled up to where there house was. I couldn't see anything but a at least 10ft tall wall with a metal solid gate. I actually thought that this was the door to their house, but it turned out to be the door to their property. They opened the door and inside was a beautiful garden and patio with their house sitting behind it. They have a beautiful three story home equipped with everything: wireless internet, a 50-inch plasma television, extremely modern kitchen, beautifully tiled huge bathroom and hardwood floors.
I woke up this morning to take a shower, but John beat me to it. He came back and said that the water was like 34 degrees Fahrenheit. I thought that maybe he just didn't wait long enough for the hot water, but my shower was breathtakingly freezing as well. We learned later that they use gas to power the water heater and that the gas must have ran out last night. So after our showers, they switched the gas line over to a new tank and we have hot water. The Señora asked me how my shower was; I said (in Spanish of course) "I'm still living!" She has an awesome sense of humor. Last night John and I told her that we were vegetarians (because our program director failed to). She didn't believe us at first, and then she said (in Spanish): "No chicken? No fish? What do you eat? I am so worried now, what will I feed you. What do you live on back home?" Needless to say though, she made an awesome lunch today! We had some kind of pasta soup thing and tacos, but definitely not the American version. They were still really good though. Everything here is very fresh, she doesn't use boxed mixes to cook, and our lemonade was freshly squeezed. She won't let us help her either.
I'm living with the Cervantes family. They have two sons (I believe 21 and 25 years old) who attend the Universidad de Guanajuato and a daughter who is 14/15. To my surprise, there are two students from Texas staying here as well, but they are on another program. I don't remember their names. This afternoon, Carlos (their 21 yr. old son) showed us around the city. It is absolutely gorgeous!!! (PS: they do have a maid that comes three days a week).
I don't know why, but I am surprised that I can understand everyone here. I'm learning a ton of new vocabulary words as well. It is amazing to be communicating with everyone in Spanish. I went to order some food at around 12p and started ordering in English. The man just looked at me like what in the world is this guy saying. I caught myself about 5 words into it and repeated myself in Spanish. It's going to take a while to quit speaking English out of habit.
I made a little friend here, Sol (pronounced like "Soul"), she is above. She is our assistant-director's daughter. She spent the three hours in O'hare with us. She's amazing: she speaks French and Spanish and she's only 3 yrs old. She doesn't know English though. I found this out quickly at the airport because she kept hanging around me and I would ask her a question and she would just look at me. I then started talking to her in Spanish and she understood everything. She's adorable! Her mom was quite embarassed at the airport when she began to pretend to breast-feed her stuffed animal named Lolita. In case you can't tell, she isn't camera shy at all.

Midway, O'hare, 21, y un Compañero de Cuarto

Yes, I got my horizontal license. I am no longer a child. It was really weird to see my picture on there without any red above it. Haha! This has been an extremely busy week. I had my last final on Wednesday night, stayed up until 4am working on a 5 page paper for my Spanish class (that of course had to be written in Spanish), got my vaccinations on Thursday morning, and then moved out Thursday afternoon/evening. I ended up not going to Chicago for the weekend because my parents' had personnel issues to tend to; however, it has been great to just relax and take my time unpacking and repacking. There is no way that I could have done everything on Thursday. I bought a new camera yesterday and it is very cool. It takes AMAZING pictures and I can put panoramas up, so I will definitely be posting those, especially when I go to see El Cristo Rey statue.
I also received some relieving news via email the other day. My program director emailed everyone our housing assignment and as it turns out, I will be living with another American student in my host family's home. I actually know him already, he goes to OSU, so that was definitely a huge blessing.
Because of the Chicago ordeal, I had to book a flight to Chicago last minute. I was checking prices and it was going to cost me around $350, but Tarangi told me to check Southwest. Luckily, I was able to purchase a ticket through Southwest for less than half of the other fare. I called Seth to just talk and told him about my flight. We were talking and he said "Southwest doesn't fly into O'hare. You'll be flying into Midway." I checked my ticket, and sure enough I am flying into Midway. Fortunately, because Seth is an amazing friend, he made a call to a friend there and I have a ride from Midway to O'hare. I not afraid of the subway or the "L", but lugging around a carry-on and two pieces of luggage would be a total pain.
Well, I am leaving tomorrow morning from Columbus at 8:30a, arriving in Chicago at 8:35a, leaving chicago at 2:30p, and arriving in Bajío/León at 7:30p. It will be a long day, but it should be exciting. I will hopefully be posting on here again on either Monday or Tuesday, until then though, ¡cuidate y estamos en contacto!

Tyler

"¡Eres un norteamericano, pero estaré ayudarte!"

In only 4 days and 20 hours I will be at the airport in León, 20 miles outside of Guanajuato. I should be getting information soon on the family with whom I am staying. I keep forgetting that I need to pack for two months. I have no idea what to take. Temperatures in Guanajuato will be ranging from the mid-fifties to the mid-eighties. There will be showers in the afternoons, the early mornings and nights will be cold. I guess I just need to pack like I’m staying somewhere in Ohio for two months. Haha! I’m very anxious about getting my host family’s contact info: calling them will be very intimidating. I’ve been asking myself questions like: What if they have the Spanish equivalent of an Appalachian accent and I’ve only heard the Spanish equivalent of an English accent; needless to say, there is quite a difference between the two. I’ve had opportunities to speak with people from Guatemala, Peru, Spain, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Both the Puerto Rican and Cuban accents take at least 5 sentences to start understanding what they are saying. Oh well, guess I’ll find out when I call them.

I found (via facebook) a couple of students that attend the Universidad de Guanajuato and have been talking to them recently. They are both extremely nice and have answered tons of my questions. One of them offered to welcome at the airport when I flew in, the other invited me and a few of my friends over for dinner with his family. Both told me to just give them a call when I get there and they are more than willing to show me where to go, where not to go, where to eat, where to go for fun, and to just hang out. I was chatting with one guy on MSN Windows Live Messenger the other night and was asking him about prices in Guanajuato and he assured me that because I’m from the US, some people will try to charge me more, but he said would make sure it wouldn’t happen if he was there. I am thrilled to have met both of them because I didn’t want to get down to Guanajuato and only hang out with other American students and not get to experience the real Mexico.

Come to find out, I actually know a guy here in Columbus that’s from Guanajuato. Small world! Also, I have a friend whose husband is still in Mexico (getting ready to move to the USA though to be with her). While he’s pretty far south of me, I may see if he wants to meet me in Mexico City sometime. There is a global health conference being held in Mexico City and a few of my friends are planning on going to that, so it may be the perfect time to meet up with him.

Wow, this is a really long post. If anyone is just dying to send me something, I’m putting my address below. Please know though that the best way to get mail to me is via FedEx, DHL, or UPS. Mail in Mexico is pretty slow, so something sent via regular mail would take weeks.

Stephen Tyler Knauff
Programa de CIC
a/c Profesor Pepe Natividad
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
Ex-Convento de Valenciana s/n
36240 Guanajuato, Gto
MÉXICO

If my host family has internet and it isn’t dial up, I will be posting on either Sunday night or Monday.

Estamos en contacto,

Tyler

El Cristo Rey y Otras Cosas

14 days until I leave for Guanajuato. I'm trying to balance getting ready for Guanajuato, moving out, and my finals here at OSU. No wonder time is flying by. The picture above was taken at Guanajuato/León (the airport that I'm flying into). At the top of the mountain in the background you can barely see the 65ft statue Monumento a Cristo Rey (Monument to Christ the King). It's on of the largest statues of Jesus in the world and sits atop Cerro del Cubilete, the 3000ft mountain in the background.
I was excited to hear from my mom that the space-saver vacuum bags work well. I was wondering how I was going to live with only two bags and a carry on for two months. That's not to mention what I buy down there and have to bring back. On another note, I am trying to figure out what I want to take to my host family as a gift that is representative of Ohio. Longaberger baskets are unique to Ohio, but in Mexico hand-made baskets are nothing. I'm going to take them some buckeyes from OSU but if anyone else has any ideas, please let me know.
Also, at the bottom of my blog, I have an RSS feed from Correo, the newspaper for the state of Guanajuato. I realize that the RSS feed is in Spanish, but the newspaper doesn't print any of their news in English. Only a few people reading my blog will be able to read it, but it's still a cool feature that I had to put in.

¡Estamos en contacto!

22 Days Until Departure

Last night I realized that I leave in just three weeks. (The picture to the left is of Guanajuato). Yesterday I also found out that I will probably not be living with another student with my host family. It will just be me and my host family. I'm fine with that, but I won't be able to look over at another American when they do something crazy and give him/her the "Can you believe these people?" look. Oh well, it should be a lot of fun. I know two people from The Ohio State University that are going, but we haven't spent any time together so we really don't know much about each other. I was a little concerned that none of us would get together while we are living in Guanajuato, but then I remembered that when I was in London, that wasn't the case. Although the London trip was very different, when you stick American students in a foreign country and they know no-one, they bond and become close friends very quickly. I'm not worried about having people around. I AM WORRIED about the FOOD though. I hate authentic Mexican food (at least the couple of times that I've had it). Don't get me wrong, I like Tex-Mex food, but the authentic stuff tastes nothing like it. Oh well, we'll see how this all goes. This is pretty much just a test message so I can get this thing set up.