Ballet Folklorico

Irma bribed a guard and got us in to see the famous Mexican Ballet Folklorico (tickets are about 60 dollars). they did folk dances from around the country, including a lot of dances and songs from the revolution. the best (and most famous) is the Dansa del venado, the deer dance, where a man dances around the stage like a deer. it sounds silly, but its actually really athletic and awesome to watch. he dances to these awesome drumbeats, until the end when he's shot with arrows and dies and the drumming dies as well.
Tomorrow I am leaving for part two of my travels. this part I'll be on my own so I'm excited and a little nervous, but mostly excited. Hasta la escriba. erin

Muchos photos por ustedes! (big fun for you!)

Yesterday we ended up at a ranch of movie star animals. lots of Cowboys and crazy animals and I got to ride a caballo! (I'm too big for burros) This pig was in the movie Apocolypse Now.

In Teotehaucan they have some amazing Aztec ruins. definitely the coolest thing I've seen in Mexico. The day we went there was a total lightening storm, what better time to climb to the top of the Pyrimide del Sol?


View of the smaller pyramid (pyrimide de la luna, pyramid of the moon) from atop the larger pyramid of the sun.

Pyramid del Sol, thought to actually have been an Aztec temple to the God of waterThe other temple (closed for repairs)


These pics are from the Plaza of the Mariachis. a plaza full of mariachi players serenading people for money. it was a big crazy party, even on a wednesday night.

2 bonus pictures for anyone that made it this far

me (haha) eating Elote, which is corn on a stick, smothered in mayonaise and then sprinkled with cheese and chili sauce. pretty great

The pharmacy of God.

I wonder what He charges for ARVs.

mexico is BIG fun

well Mexico is very funny because I don't ever really know what is going on.

por exemplo: last night I was talking to Irma, the 54 year old woman whose house I am staying at. Irma does not speak English (the way I do not speak Spanish) and usually I have one of her kids handy to help translate, but last night it was just the two of us. We were talking about my plans for traveling around Mexico and the places I had been in Mexico city. Then for some reason she started talking about hair and beauty salons and hair dressers and I was really tired so I was just like "whatever", kind of half asleep while she kept talking and then our talk turned into this crazy lesson on Spanish, starting with the alphabet and the concept of lowercase versus uppercase letters (!!). pretty much the greatest night ever.

Anyway, today this lady shows up at the house to cut and dye my hair! I guess Irma was disturbed by the fact that only half my hair is black (Abby dyed the innermost/longest layer black a while ago) and that I recently cut my hair myself. hahah. luckily, when the lady came Joan (my new friend/tourguide from Panama) was here to help me explain that I actually MEANT to have two toned hair. I would have enjoyed the experience of a Mexican haircut, but the femullet incident in the Philippines has really made me shy away from cross-lingual haircuts.

Irma (the mom of Hiram and Christian) and Hiram--they are the Mexican Aunt Marty and Andrew Beck, much to my delight!

Joan and her husband, Christian

I think I'm in love

El mural, Velocidad
This is a mural by David Siquieros called Velocidad, or, Speed. I read about it in my guide book (under murals less traveled by) and really wanted to find it because it is of a woman runner, como yo. Well, it really was less traveled by, no one had heard of it or knew where it was, even the guards guarding the plaza where we found it.

Un Policia con Caballo

Joan kept telling me I could take his picture, but I was afraid he would arrest me or something, so I just kind of took it and ran.

Un mural de Diego Rivera en la Palacia National
This mural depicts the history of Mexico, something which I am becoming more and more fascinated by. There's just so much more there than our boring U.S. heritage. Maybe because in the end the colonizers lost, so the story is through the mouths of the ones who were oppressed.
We pretend that's what happened in the U.S., but let's be honest

check this dude out!

He is a half fish, half crocodile from Tabasco. Viva el Mexico!!!

Mexico !!

un catedral en Coyocan

Mi amigo, Hiram, en la casa azul de Frida

Hola mis amigos!

Muchachos! Que tal?! La television es no importante, Carlos! Yo quiero estudiar el espagnol!
Well, would you believe I've exhausted all the spanish I know! Hahaha what a silly thing--in two days I will be in Mexico. I hope to be able to post some pics and tell my best donkey stories along the way--so don't give up on me. I'll be back in Bostonland the 14th of August, so for now I'm giving this blog the temporary title of : Mex it all around town!
Yeah!!!
I am so really happy today because everything is as it should be. La Amor y El Passion es mi programa favorita! Papa, es possible estudiar manana!
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
erin

some pics from the 4th

Boston fireworks were sooo awesome. they tried to rain us all out of the esplanade but we wouldn't go. roommate Melissa as statue of liberty. Abby made the flipflops

HAPPY BDAY NICOLE

ps click on the picture to see it well :)