this past weekend was a frenzy of cultural activities. while i took muchos time to sleep and relax, i also managed to fit in SO much. some may actually say it was not relaxing at all! but i swear, it was.
on friday evening after school, we spent happy hour at papalotes, a local taco restaurant similar in feel to lonestar. the greatest part was when the owners told us that they were doing a photoshoot of all their bar drinks, and they didn't want to throw them out. did we want them? OF COURSE! here is a picture of us enjoying our myriad of drinks on the patio.
on saturday, i went with two other teachers (ginny and barb) to see the frida exhibit at the marco (the museum of modern art in monterrey). before going, i didn't know much about frida, other then the infamous one-eybrow. i absolutely LOVED her work. she was so honest that i almost felt as if i had touched a part of her soul during my visit. apparently, this collection is the largest frida collection ever to be in monterrey, so this was a very exciting field trip! many of her writings were also displayed, but my spanish was not up for the test, unfortunately. since the exhibit, i have read up on frida, and even watched the movie about her, which i would highly recommend.
next, we attended a cultural exhibit called 'dialogue in the dark'. now this was one of the most unique experiences of my life, but i am not sure if i will be able to properly articulate its impact on me, or the sensations that i felt. the purpose of the exhibit was to recreate what it would be like to be blind. we were taken along a tunnel, and it gradually became darker, and darker, until we were in utter blackness. the weird part was, our eyes were open. at first, i felt really uncomfortable and panicky, but after about 5 minutes, i became more comfortable with my temporary 'blindness'. we were brought through 5 rooms: one that was a jungle, the grocery store, a cafe, a marina and a street corner. we relied incredibly on our guide, and could only move through the rooms with our sense of touch and sound. it was VERY disconcerting, but in a weird way, very eye-opening. for over an hour, i was blind - relying on the 7 friends i had with me, my guide and hoping that i wouldn't crash into various plants or get killed crossing the street. it is different then being blindfolded, as there was absolutely NO light. for me, the grocery store was most frustrating, and learning how to use cash. it is difficult to tell all the coins apart when you can't see them! when we were finished, we were introduced to our guide, who was really blind. the whole tour, we had never known. not that it should change anything... but it was good for me to speak with him about what it is REALLY like to be blind in a city with uneven sidewalks and little infrastructure in place. i highly recommend feeling what it is like to be fully stripped of something we take advantage of. you walk away looking at the world differently.
then, for a TRUE monterrey cultural experience, a futball game! there are two rival teams in monterrey: the tigres and the rayados. apparently, being a devoted fan to one or the other runs in the family. you cannot move to mexico without attending a soccer game. it would just be wrong. SO, i sought out a local ticketmaster (which, in fact, was a great find! avril lavigne is coming to monterrey next month), and bought tickets for four of us to go to a tigres game. allez allez tigres! ally, amy, myself and elise hopped into a cab and were off to a potentially sketchy part of town. luckily, all was well. i'll admit it: we definitely didn't belong. we stuck out like a sore thumb. first off: everyone was decked out in team jerseys; everyone was male; and absolutely NO ONE was blond. one guys even said to us in spanish, "do you speak english?" and when we answered yes, he looked starstruck. while happily ignoring the stares, we pushed our way into last row seats (next to the beer cooler) and enjoyed the game. there is no assigned seating, so this process was actually WAY more difficult then i am describing here... but i'll let you imagine it! we were definitely a big part of the half time show, and people actually wanted to take pictures with us! it was like we were celebrities. it was quite interesting to feel the difference even just from wandering around san pedro. in san pedro, we don't get stared at AS much as in other places in monterrey where foreigners are just not overly common. anyway. i made friends with the kid next to me, who told me all the important things that i needed to know about futball. the one thing that you couldn't miss was... the caged in section of fans who literally cheered and bounced the WHOLE game. good thing the tigres weren't playing the rayados, because i have heard that can get a little rough n tough. when we left the game, we left a group of cops who said to us, in english, "you lik-e-the boy cops?" and we decided it was time to go....
finally, we moved across the street from the tigres stadium to an infamous bar called 'far west'. picture this: cowboys, girls line-dancing, a dance floor the side of a football field, drink tickets, a rodeo INSIDE the bar, professional line-dancing shows and allllll country music. you might think you are in texas... but no. they are all mexican cowboys and mexican rodeo clowns. a strange, but fabulous sight. the greatest part was when the power went out for more then 45 minutes, but no one moved! we just drank beer in the dark. at midnight bells ring and the indoor rodeo commences with REAL bulls and bullriders. it was slightly grotesque and cruel, but an experience nonetheless. here's proof of our adventures:
not bad for a two-day weekend, eh? and i haven't even mentioned sunday yet! we have vowed to try to do ONE new thing each weekend we stay in town. i don't think it will be a difficult feat.
No comments:
Post a Comment