Fulbright and SPABinternational, an unlikey combination

The Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar is not one of my programs, but my friend at the Fulbright Commission, Marcela, is charge of this one. In short, it brings a small number of primary, secondary, and tertiary educators in social studies-like fields to travel throughout Mexico for a month. This year’s group of 16 spent their month traveling through the southern regions of the Republic, starting in Cancun, Quintana Roo and moving northward to their final destination in Mexico City. Along the way they visited Aztec and Maya archaeological sites, museums, schools, tasted top-notch regional cuisine, and stayed in wonderful hotels with luxurious swimming pools - truly the hard life.



The last five days of the program took place here in Mexico City and I was able to tag along for the ride. We drank tequila in Plaza Garibaldi, navigated Xochimilco on traditional trajineras, visited the Basilica of Guadalupe (the spiritual epicenter of Mexico), climbed the temples of the Sun and the Moon in Teotihuacán, and saw breath taking Diego Rivera murals and Frida Kahlo paintings; all a brief insight into the countless treasures and adventures this city has to offer.



So what does this have to do with none other than the Society for the Preservation of Adolescent Behavior? As fate had it, two of the participants in the program happen to be from good ole Richmond, VA, and I have connections to them both.



Above are pictured none other than Joel Dexter, famed world traveler and James River High School History teacher, and Stephanie Stockman, Spanish teacher in Hanover, colleague of my Dad, and fellow SPAB enthusiast. Joel took a group of my peers and I to Costa Rica my senior year at JRHS and taught both of my sisters. Stephanie and I had never met before, but had the pleasure of discovering the SPAB connection while in Mexico City. Hell, she’s even been to Shenanigans!

BigDave, if you are reading this, SPABinternational truly is international now. Felicidades.

As always, click on a picture to see the rest of the set, hosted on Flickr.com.

From Buenos Aires to Mexico City

I had lunch the other weekend with my friend Ornella and her family. She and I both studied at the same university in Buenos Aires and has been one of my unofficial hosts here in Mexico City. Ornella is the short one in the middle.

El Faro

Three and a half hours south west from Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, through the fog and rain, green mountains and winding roads, past beautiful vistas along a curving coastline, past agave, coconut, and plantain farms, and amidst nameless pueblos and rustic surfer towns lies El Faro, one of Mexico's many hidden treasures. Imagine three hundred yards of white sand, pristine beach, and beautiful coastal views and combine it with thatched roof huts, tents, and hammocks.



Amongst this tropical paradise is where I spent this past weekend eating fresh ceviche and shrimp quesadillas, drinking all the Estrella you can ask for, sleeping, reading, and frying in the sun. The twenty hours roundtrip travel, aching sunburn, and rough Monday at work were more than worth it.

I arrived in Guadalajara at 10:00pm on Friday after seven long hours on a bus and was met by my hosts Nat, Nunu, and Xochitl, all Guadalajaran natives, and sisters. Nat, who is currently at home visiting her family, is married to my friend and ex-DC roommate, Shelton.



They picked me up at the bus station, truck packed and ready to hit the road, and we proceeded to Xochitl's house, who was having a house warming party. The plan was to hit the road at midnight and get to El Faro in time to catch a few zzz's and rise with the sun. Plans changed, as they always do, and we got on the road at 5:00am after two and a half hours of sleep.



We arrived in El Faro three and a half hours later, set up the tents and hung the hammocks, and I proceeded to fall asleep on the sand soaking up the intense Pacific coast sun, which later on would earn me the nickname "don Lechoso" due to my pale skin and red sunburn. ("don" being a term of endearment given mainly to older people, "lechoso" coming from leche, which means milk, and "-oso" a common superlative ending. In other words- Mr. Milky.)



The rest of the weekend was spent lounging in the hammock, reading "The Thousand and One Nights," watching a breath taking sunset, and catching up on needed sleep.



We left this paradise Sunday evening in time to get me back to the bus station for my 11:25pm departure back to reality. After a seven hour bus ride through a night of tossing and turning, and painful sunburn, I arrived back to DF to crash for two hours and get ready for work. Looking back only a day later, the weekend was caught somewhere between a dream and a Jack Kerouac novel, truly a wonderful break from the daily grind, smoggy air, and concrete jungle of my home in Mexico City. These words and pictures hardly do it justice.



All of these pictures, as well as the rest of this set, can be seen and downloaded in their original sizes by clicking on any one of them and going to my site on Flickr.com. Click on the El Faro set.