Influence of Specific Observations and Experiences

     Overall, this cultural diversity practicum expanded my experiences with diversity and provided me with experiences that correlate with my academic and personal understanding of diversity.  Throughout this whole experience, both inside and outside of the school environment, I was in a completely new culture.  I absorbed countless amounts of information and learned just as many things about myself, Mexican culture, and teaching in Mexican elementary schools.
     Specifically, there are a number of experiences I would like to highlight.  Firstly,  the fact that I had the opportunity to observe at three different schools of varying locations and socioeconomic statuses allowed me the opportunity to directly compare and contrast the three schools through their supplies, facilities, and quality of teaching.  I found that the higher income city school had the best facilities and provided their students with nutritional meals, which correlates with their higher socioeconomic status.  I found that the personal supplies the students had was pretty standard across the board.  Most students had a pencil, notebook, and workbook.  The rest was variable.  Overall, I found the rural school to have the highest quality of teaching.  Of all the teachers we observed, she was the most passionate and dedicated to her job and never said anything negative about her students.  She fought to get her students basic materials and cares deeply about providing education to her students.  I did not see this with the other teachers.  Some of them seemed to be there just for the paycheck and some seemed burnt out and had negative opinions of their students.  It was hard to watch some of the teachers, particularly one of the teachers who, when the regular teacher never showed up for work, decided to let her students have an extended recess and not teach them because she didn't feel like it and they were hard to deal with.  I found this really disappointing.  Through seeing these different schools, I got a significant picture of the diversity in Mexican schools in supplies, facilities, and quality of education/teaching.
     As for my disposition toward the students I observed, it was nice to see when students were excited to learn.  I found this the most at the rural school because of Ericka Flores, a passionate teacher who was able to engage her students and get us involved in the activities   I was able to help one of her classes write a party invitation and sat on a panel in another class to ask and answer questions.  It was wonderful and they were definitely my favorite students to interact with.  The students even came up to us during break time and asked us how to pronounce their names in English.  Overall, I had really pleasant experiences with the children and it was wonderful to get to know some of them.
     The things I learned are countless and I will be constantly using what I learned in my future classes and classroom.  Overall, one of the biggest things I learned is how to be okay with being outside of my comfort zone for a significant amount of time.  This will help me be significantly more comfortable in future experiences where I have to go with the flow in a classroom or have an unexpected experience.  Learning that skill is invaluable.
     Thank you,

    Olivia Brownson

Mexico Trip - Day Ten

March 16, 2013

     Today was our last full day in Mexico.  Some of the group went to the beach but I decided to take a personal day and chill at the hotel.  I slept in and got a late lunch with Dina, who also stayed back to get some necessary work done.  After that, I used Kayleen's computer to upload a significant amount of my pictures and videos from the trip to Facebook while watching a movie.  It was a very relaxing day overall and a great way to regroup and prepare for the flight home the next day.

     Around dinner time that night, everyone came back and we all had dinner together.  I wasn't super hungry and didn't feel super well so I didn't eat much but it was nice to sit down and have a meal with everyone.  After that, some of the group wanted to go back out on the town but I had had enough on the town activities for the weekend so I stayed back and continued relaxing.  It was wonderful.
     I packed up all my stuff and got ready for bed so that I would be relaxed, packed, and ready to go home in the morning.

Mexico Trip - Day Nine

March 15, 2013

     Today is the day that we traveled from La Paz to Los Cabos.  We woke up after getting to sleep in a bit and finished packing our stuff and checked out the Seven Crown - Malecon.  Check out took a while but that was fine with me because we all chilled on the beach for a while, while Dina and Tony took care of the finance side of things.
     After we checked out, we hopped in the van and began our drive from La Paz to Los Cabos.  On the way we stopped in Todos Santos again and I got my chance to buy the natural homemade honey for my boyfriend, Justin.  In addition to this, we got a chance to stop, see, and walk around the Hotel California.  This hotel was really beautiful and I took a significant amount of photos.
     Across the street from the Hotel California was a little shop where I was able to find a beautiful blue moon-sun vase to bring back home as a personal souvenir.  I was a little short on pesos and the merchant was nice enough to give it to me a little cheaper because he could see how much I loved it.  I was and am really grateful for that because it is one of my favorite items that I bought.
     After we finished up in the store, we hopped back in the van and finished our drive to Los Cabos.  We checked into our beautiful hotel.  This hotel was probably my favorite hotel that we stayed at.  It was cozy, welcoming, and beautiful (and the food there was delicious).  I was able to take a little time to get settled in and relax.  Then, it was time for us to go on the boat.
     Some of our tour guides decided that it would be fun to give us the Cabo experience by taking us on a boat tour of the arch.  This boat was large, had a delicious dinner prepared, and a plethora of beverages.  There was music and dancing and many many pictures of the arch and I had a blast.  It was wonderful.  We got to watch the sunset while on the boat.
     After the boat tour ended, our group walked the boardwalk in order to check out some of the places nearby.  As we were walking along the boardwalk, many small children came up to us trying to sell little trinkets.  It was hard to refuse them but we had to because they are being forced to work to make money that typically will make it back to the mobs and gangs around.  It is really really sad.
     From there we checked out a number of different places (restaurants, bars, etc.) to get a feel for the nighttime culture in Los Cabos.  It was really fun to be able to relax and just have fun with little worries.
     After a while, Kayleen wanted to head back to the hotel to change before heading back out.  I was grateful for this because I was reaching my limit and was ready to hit the hay.  So while some of the group went back out on the town, I got ready for bed and had a wonderful sleep.  

Mexico Trip - Day Eleven (Last Day)

March 17, 2013

     Our last day began with waking up, finishing packing, and checking out of our hotel in Cabos.  After we checked out of our hotel, we drove to San Jose and found a place to stop for breakfast.  We stopped at a cute little outdoor restaurant (almost every restaurant we went was not fully enclosed.  There was always part of it outside) where I had some delicious breakfast and a smoothie.
     After we finished breakfast, we arrived at the airport and spent a long time getting our bags checked, going through customs, etc.  Once we got on the plane, I settled in to read my book and take a nap.
     We landed in Denver, Colorado at the Denver airport and had to go through customs again and spent a couple hours in line to officially arrive back in the United States.  Then, we had a 5-7 hour layover in Denver till we could board the plane to Fargo, North Dakota.
     We were all hungry while we were waiting so we stopped at a cafeteria-like place for some food.  I had some macaroni and cheese and it was so delicious after not having it for a long time.  I was a very happy camper.  I was even happier when we stopped at Ben and Jerry's for some United States ice cream.  The ice cream in Mexico was good but not as good as some cookies and cream ice cream in the states.  After that, I was satisfied to wait the hours till we could board the plane.
     After the ice cream, we walked to the other side of the airport to find our gate.  Then we found a seat and got comfortable.  Some of us took a nap, some went to the bar upstairs.  As for me, I sat down and started reading one of my books for class.  After a couple hours we started finding out about how bad the weather in Fargo was getting.  We were worried that we would get delayed and not be able to make it to Fargo in time to attend classes on Monday.

    We ended up getting a 13 minute delay and had a stressful landing in Fargo but arrived close to on time, which was nice.  Even nicer was that classes were cancelled due to the weather so I had some time to regroup to Fargo before jumping back into the swing of things because we landed in Fargo Monday morning at 1am and I would have had class at 12 noon.
     When I was at the Baggage Claim picking up my bags, I got in contact with my boyfriend who was coming to pick me up.  After he parked, he came inside to greet me and had a big bouquet of flowers for me.  It was so sweet and I was so happy to see him that I ran across the airport room to hug him.  It was wonderful to see him.
     It was a wonderful and amazing trip that I loved but I was definitely glad to be home.

The end,

Olivia 

Evaluation and Recommendations

     I loved being a part of this Cultural Diversity Practicum/Mexico Trip.  I learned so much and got to experience so many new activities and moments.  I would definitely recommend to anyone that they should complete their Cultural Diversity Practicum outside of the United States because there is so much more that you can learn because not only are you in a new environment, you are in a different culture and country.  There are infinitely more things you can learn about not only teaching and diversity, but about yourself.  When you put yourself in a completely different and unfamiliar environment, you are forced to live outside your comfort zone and you may discover something about yourself that you didn't know before.  For me, I am much more comfortable going into a school and being asked to do something on the fly now than and I was before.
     There is hardly anything that I would recommend for improving the experience.  I really only have one.  It would be nice to have the days you go to the three different schools in Mexico be spread out a bit more instead of back to back because it can be a bit overwhelming since it is three different schools instead of the same school three days in a row.  You never really have time to settle into your environment and since they are so close together, it is really easy to get the details mixed up in your head.  Other than that, I had an amazing time and would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Mexico Trip - Day Eight

March  14, 2013

     We began the day with breakfast on the go because we had to drive a bit farther to get to the rural school from La Paz.  Once we got to the school we were shown around the school campus and introduced to Ericka Flores, the English Pilot Program teacher at the school.  She was super nice and by far my favorite teacher during the cultural diversity practicum because she cared about her job and the children when I didn't get that feeling from the rest of the teachers we followed around.
     We followed Ericka around to around 5-6 different classrooms and you could tell that the students respected her because she had good classroom management, the students were excited to see us, and she got us involved with the students.  It was wonderful.
     During the student's break time, Ericka bought us a snack, which was very nice of her, and we sat at a table outside.  Many of the students gathered around us and asked us how to say different words in Spanish and how we would pronounce their names in English.  It was very cute and fun to see the students of all grades so excited to talk to us.
     After snack/lunch, we went to a couple more classrooms with Ericka and then hopped back in the van on our way back to La Paz.  We had some downtime this afternoon, an unusual occurrence lol, and decided walk around taking pictures and looking in shops for souvenirs  We came upon a street artist who had small paintings of different places in and around La Paz on little easels   I bought one of his beautiful paintings of Balandra Beach because that was one of my favorite places and where I tried snorkeling.
     After we finished up shopping and taking photos, we hopped in the van and headed over to UABCS, the local university.  (University of Baja California Sur).  We got a lovely tour of the campus because Angela and possibly Kayleen will be attending there in the fall.  We stopped in the bookstore and I bought four fairytale books in Spanish in order to have a resource for ELL students in my future classroom.  I have ideas to do lessons on fairytales so that students who speak both English and Spanish can follow along and discuss with each other.  On the tour we also passed the music department where I got to see some people jamming on instruments and another classroom of students learning cultural dances.  It was definitely my favorite part of the tour.
     After the tour, the man who gave us the tour took us out to dinner at a fancy restaurant.  It was a really nice restaurant and I had delicious cheese ravioli and everyone else split two meet tray things.  I am not sure what they were called but they brought out these big silver boxes with a bunch of different types of meat on top of them.  There was a lot of meat and eventually the two sides of the table tried to see who could finish the most meat.  It was a very interesting and amusing contest.
     Once we finished dinner, Garrett, Kayleen, Angela, and I went and met up with Zuzuy to go out on the town.  We went to a couple different bars and places.  I really liked the first two we went to.  The first was a  cozy bar built with wood panelling and an underground sort of feel.  The next place was a karaoke bar (I think called Sinatra) and that was really fun to watch people sing.  Surprisingly, there were people who sang in English as well as Spanish and there were a lot of songs on the list to choose from that were in English.
     I didn't like the third place we went.  It was called The Jungle and was basically a big rave party with people really squished and it was loud and smoky and not my scene at all so I left pretty quickly and went back to the hotel to shower and go to bed.  It was a fun evening and I learned a lot about how far my comfort zone will stretch.

Cultural Diversity Setting - Lower Income City School

During my trip in the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico, I had the opportunity to observe schools, students, and teachers in three different schools in Mexico: a lower income city school, a higher income city school, and a rural school.  Below is my description of the Lower Income City School.

Lower Income City School:

• English Pilot Program
• They are a good school for the school that they are
• This school is recognized by the government nationally
• More extracurriculars 
• Uniforms
• Some students have uniforms
• Some students do not because their families cannot afford them
• Kids feel free to get up and move
• Lots of doing
• Students feel free to randomly get out of their seats
• Loud classroom
• Kids leave fairly freely for the bathroom (banos) 
• Happy Students
• School used to end at 12:30 but now ends at 2:30 pm
• English teacher doesn't see a difference
• Teacher yelled at students to be quiet
• Frequently yells over the students
• Students do not always follow along with the teacher
• Some students not paying attention
• Teacher repeats himself a lot
• Children talk a lot while teacher is teaching
• Does not seem to bother the teacher
• School in a tough neighborhood

• Normal for them to see drugs
• Shooting down the street a month ago (normal)
• Students have a hard life (low income)
• School becomes the safe place in town
• Teacher tries to teach English but hard so teacher in both English and Spanish

• Looked something up on Google with his phone
• Students up and moving
• Teacher is a good artist
• Lice problem in school
• Hangs grades up on board 
• 2 recess times
• Fence around the school
• 1-2 armed guards
• Gate into the school
• Teacher announced class is over and the students didn't do anything
• Long school days

• Used to go home for lunch but now they have longer school days and students stay for "lunch"
• Helps keep the students off the streets and in school
• No cafeteria
• Students bring their own lunch
• Ice cream stand 
• Lunch and recess at the same time
• Two scheduled breaks
• They play music over the loudspeakers when they want students to return to the classrooms
• The English Pilot Program teachers move from room to room and the rest stay.
• Classroom
• Colorful walls
• Posters
• Bars on the windows
• Small Classrooms
• Coloring and Games
• Date (Hoy es Lunes 11 de Marzo de 2013)
• What's your name?  My name is...
• 5th/6th Grade Classrooms
• SmartBoard
• 5th and 6th grade classrooms only
• Students clean their own classroom
• No janitor
• Trash cans in each aisle
• Not as much on the walls as the kindergarten/1st grade classrooms
• Lots of time in the classroom doing nothing

• teacher makes assignments very simple and spends the whole time on them
• Workbook page 64...
• invitations, telephone calls, favors, etc. 
• Vocabulary Word List worktime
• "repeat after me" vocabulary words
• Students like to draw the words and draw in general
• Verb Game
• The team gets a verb and teams have to guess the verb in English
• Teacher says that this is the only way they learn the verbs
• Teacher's desk is messy like many US ones are
• There is a teacher's desk in this room but not all of them have a teacher's desk
• Teacher has to talk loud and over the students
• She raises her hand and the students are supposed to quiet down
  
• Some students have cell phones
• Many students love Justin Bieber
• When the students play games, they fight because they get competitive 
• The students get excited when they see something new
• Students in her classroom can only use the bathroom if they have finished their work
• Student's make birthday cards to practice making invitations
• Teacher said that the student's are kind of lazy
• (side personal opinion comment: you should never say this about your students!)
• A lizard appeared in the classroom and all the students screamed, including Kayleen.  I sat and watched with amusement as one brave student picked it up and brought it outside.  

What Did I Learn About Myself?

     I learned a significant amount about myself during this trip.  I tend to be a higher stress and anxiety person who likes to be organized, ready, and prepared for all situations.  However, part of this is my personality and part of it is the way I was raised and socialized.  In the United States, we are taught that to be successful, we need to be on time, prepared, and be ready to act above and beyond expectations.  This mentality is a bit different in the state of Baja California Sur (BCS), Mexico.

     In BCS, the teachers tend to be more relaxed with time.  Often there are no clocks in the student's classrooms and students and teachers leisurely make their way from room to room and area to area. In addition to this, the classroom environment tends to be louder and less managed in these schools over schools in the United States.  I enjoyed my time observing teachers, students, and classrooms, but it was definitely an adjustment with not knowing the full schedule or where I would be most of the time.  
     I definitely think that this experience, both inside and outside the classroom, contributed greatly to my knowledge of the lives of culturally diverse students.  Some of the students I saw had uniforms, like the lower income school, but even then, not all of the students could afford the uniforms.  One of the schools, the higher income one, had a cafeteria and cafeteria chefs and nutritionists to make their food.  The others schools merely had a snack counter where students had to pay for snacks that were not always the healthiest choices and that was their lunch.  Additionally, some students had all the school supplies they needed, some had a few, and most had a half-size notebook and pencil.  Most of the students had their workbook because they were donated to the school.  Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have those either.  The teachers at these schools carry their supplies, such as colored pencils and markers, with them for the students because they do not have their own.  Seeing and experiencing all of this helped me realize everything you can accomplish with minimal supplies and a teacher who is willing to fight for those minimal supplies, like Ericka Flores from the rural school.
     This field experience contributed to my growth as a future educator by opening my eyes to the wide variety of places students come from in addition to the wide variety in culture, background knowledge, and much more.  It is one thing to know that students come from all places and experiences and it is another thing to see it.  It made the reality of the idea real and directly applicable to my career.  
     I am very grateful for this opportunity and experience and will use the knowledge I have gained to be the best teacher I can be.  Thank you.  

Lower Income City School:

• I do not think that I would enjoy working here because the environment was really loud and the teachers that we observed seemed really frustrated and burnt out a lot of the time while trying to hide it
• The principal was really nice and the facilities were not bad but I think I would generally choose a different environment over this one.  

Higher Income City School:

• If I would work here, I think I would enjoy the weather and school campus but I think I would get frustrated with lack of supplies and organization of time and people
• I tend to be more serious and organized.  I think it would be a change and a challenge. 
• I think it would be relaxing at first and then I would get frustrated
• I really like all the breaks, they are relaxing
• It seems easier for a kid to go missing from the classroom

Rural School:

• I really liked this school.  It was my favorite school out of the three because there was more of a community there and you could tell the teacher cared more about their school and their students than the teachers in the city schools did.
• It makes me wonder if rural schools have similar communities here in the USA.  This would be a possibility to explore in future practicums here in the USA
• Possibly student teach here?

• Escuela Primaria Rural Netza Huacco Yotl 
• El Carrizal
• Baja California Sur
• Principal: Alfonso Servin Garcia
• Teacher: Ericka Flores Martinez
• Time: 8am-2pm
• Sessions: 50 Minutes Each
• Groups: 6thB, 5thA, 5thB, 4thB, and 2ndA
• Really dedicated and excited teacher (Ericka Flores)

• Best teacher of the three schools I visited
• Small Community
• Teachers going on strike next week because they (the B.C.S. Government) are trying to pass a law in the constitution where the B.C.S.Government does not have to provide for the schools - the teachers and parents do

Mexico Trip - Day Five

March 5, 2013

     Today was the first day of our cultural diversity practicum.  We got up and went to a restaurant down the street for breakfast.  I had pancakes and the fanciest chocolate milk I have ever had.
     Then we hopped in the van and drove to the school.  This school was the lower income city school (see lower income city school post for more details).  When we arrived, a girl was reading Mexico's history on today's date to everyone at an assembly.  Then some students came out and performed a dance.  The principal said it was nice to the students to have this assembly to welcome us because it changed up their routine a bit.
     After the dance, they introduced us in the assembly and walked us around the school's campus afterwards.  We got to walk around and peek into different classrooms.

     The observations started in two difference first grade classroom with lunch afterwards.  (We were provided with a bag lunch).  After lunch and break time, we observed in two difference fifth grade classrooms.  I am learning a significant amount throughout the day (see lower income city school post for the notes).  After that set of observations, the students had another break before more classes.  We left the school during that break because the teachers who could speak English/taught the English Pilot Programs were done for the day.
     It was nice to get done early that day because I was observing and learning so much at once that it made me tired.  When we got back to the hotel I was able to take a nap and regroup my energy for the rest of the day.
     After my nap, we got ready to go to the beach (Balandra Beach) to snorkel.  I am afraid of snorkeling but I made myself put on the gear (harder than it looks - and you have to put on the flippers while sitting in the water and then walk backwards into the deeper water.  Otherwise you fall over) and go snorkeling.  It turned out to be really fun and beautiful because it was just before sunset when we went.  It was hard to get used to the snorkel breathing tube because I was used to holding my breath when my head was completely under water so I was a little panicky until I got used to the motions and feeling of everything.  I saw a lot of leaves and sand movement in the water and little of everything else but that was 100% okay with me because I really do not have a desire to know what wildlife I am swimming with.  I am really glad that I went and I had a lot of fun.

     The walk to and from the beach was really fun and beautiful.  We had to walk along a curvy shore with rocks, occasionally walking in the water to avoid the rocks.  The area was gorgeous and walking back during the sunset and rising tides was one of my favorite experiences.  I was completely happy in that moment.
     When we got back to the van, we drove back to the hotel to change and get ready for dinner.  Kayleen was really craving a burger so we drove to a mall-like area and went to Kiki's Burgers.  I  did not know that I was craving food from home until I took the first bite of the hotdog I ordered.  That was officially the best hotdog I have ever tasted.  I also had some french fries (which I don't normally eat or like) but they were delicious until I got full and they got cold.
     After Kiki's Burgers we headed back to the hotel and I took a shower and plopped into bed after a wonderful day.  

Mexico Trip - Cultural Diversity Practicum Purpose and Objectives

Education 352 - Cultural Diversity Practicum

Course Purpose:

     The Culturally Diverse Practicum is designed to provide preservice teachers an experience in a culturally diverse classroom.  This experience will enable the preservice teacher to be better prepared to meet all student's needs and develop a greater understanding of how to work with students from various backgrounds and socioeconomic levels.  

Major Course Objectives:

Upon successful completion of the course, preservice teachers will have had an opportunity to:

• Understand the changing United States and world demographics regarding ethnicity, race, culture, religion, language, and socioeconomic status.
• Understand the cultural, ethnic, social class, gender, emotional, intellectual, and physical aspects of human differences.
• Understand the proficiencies that support learning by all students as shown in their work with students with exceptionalities and those from diverse, ethnic, racial, gender, and socioeconomic groups in classrooms and schools.
• Understand the role of diversity and equity in the teaching and learning process.
• Complete a 25-hour practicum in a culturally diverse setting.
• Reflect on their observations and practices in working with students from diverse, ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups.  
• Prepare a 4-6 page paper (in my case, blog posts) that reflect on what was learned from the 25 hour field experience and how the experiences enhanced their knowledge about diversity.
• Meet the Global Awareness Ability for the electronic portfolio for graduation.   

Mexico Trip - Day Four

March 10, 2013

Highlights of today:

• Seeing Dolphins
• Seeing Sea Lions
• Almost getting seasick to the point of barfing but not barfing
• Swimming to shore after jumping off the boat
• Eating out
• Bought some souvenirs
• Tried and had 3 shots of Tequila and with Lime after (then took a nap)

     Today we woke up, ate a breakfast to go and hopped on a really nice boat to head out to the island, Espiritu Santo (Gallena - Chicken/Rooster).  We saw dolphins swimming by the boat on the way to the island.  They were so pretty and graceful when they were swimming and jumping in and out of the water.  It was amazing to watch!
     As we continued gliding over the Sea of Cortez, Angela, Kayleen, Dina, and I got seasick from the rocking of the boat over the open ocean.  Angela, Kayleen, and I think Dina, ended up throwing up over the side of the boat.  I successfully did not! :)

     When we reached the island, they dropped the anchor and rested for a bit.  Then, after a while, someone suggested that we jump off the boat and swim to shore.  I thought it was a good idea because the shore didn't look that far away...I was super wrong!  I jumped in and realized really fast that the shore was way farther than it looked.  I started swimming and swallowed a significant amount of salt water as the waves came by.  When Josie jumped in, she was struggling so the small boat came by and she climbed in.  I hung on the side of the boat for a minute and then decided to keep swimming.  I swam and swam, swallowing salt water, and getting a bit scared because I was getting really tired.  After a while I started swimming like dogs do to rest while still going towards shore.  Eventually, my foot hit bottom, scraping against some coral which hurt but I was just happy to be able to touch.  I started half-walking and half-gliding to shore for a while until I was able to stand up and walk to shore.  I was exhausted but so proud of myself for making it.  It was definitely a huge accomplishment for me.  After the small boat made it back to shore, I was able to get my foot bandaged up from the coral scrapes and went on to collect shells and have a wonderful day. 

     I walked along the beach collecting shells for gifts for my friends and family.  I found some shells that made me think of Justin (I miss him, there are so many experiences that I wish he was here for).  

     After the beach, we went back to the boat for lunch and relaxed.  I ended up trying some fancy Tequila for the first time (a few shots with lime) and quite enjoyed it (to my surprise).  It makes your mouth numb after you drink one or two.  After that, I went to the front of the boat and suntanned while taking a nap.  

    Then, on the way back to La Paz, we saw some Sea Lions swimming and resting on a rock.  It was so cool!  I never thought I would see those!  They are huge!

    When we got back, I took a glorious shower and went to dinner with Angela, Tony, Kayleen, and Jessica at the Super Burro.  

     On the walk back to the hotel, we (Angela, Kayleen, Jessica, and I) found a small art store to buy some souvenirs from.  I bought a small bowl and a small cup/glass.  Then we went back to the hotel and relaxed.

      Now sleep, practicum starts in the morning.  

Mexico Trip - Day Three

March 9, 2013

     I was woken up today by my roommate, Imigna, telling me she was going to get ready for the day in her friend's room so I could use the bathroom.  I didn't want to get out of bed because I had had the most comfortable sleep I've had in a long time.  The bed was so comfortable and the shower I took last night was amazing! (The best water pressure I have ever felt).

     After I coaxed myself out of bed, I got ready for the day (slathered myself in sunscreen) and headed out to the beach.  Angela and I then laid in hammocks for a while.  

     Then we all gathered together and went for breakfast at Cafe Ole.  I had pancakes and hot chocolate and it was muy delicioso! (very delicious).  The pancakes were so large though that I could only finish half of them, taking the other half to go. 

     After breakfast, we drove back to the hotel, packed up our stuff (I almost forgot my sweatshirt), and headed out for the museum (museo).  The museum was a bit interesting but was centered around a lot of what looked like Catholicism so I lost a bit of interest.  I really like museums but Catholicism is not a big topic of interest for me.  

     After the museum, we drove to the mission (mision) in San Javier.  There was a nice church there but the really cool part was the 500 year old Olive Tree they are known for.  The tree was beautiful and Jose Alfredo said we could climb it! I CLIMBED UP AND SAT IN A 500 YEAR OLD OLIVE TREE!! It was amazing for two reasons: 1. for the experience, and 2. my name means Olive Branch.  

     After the Olive Tree, we hopped back into the car and drove many hours back to La Paz.  I slept a long time in the car (hurt my shoulder a bit) and we occasionally stopped for picture taking and snacks.  

     We reached La Paz around 6pm and checked back into the Seven Crown - Malecon Hotel.  (Malecon means close to the same thing as Boardwalk in the USA does).  Around 7pm, we hopped in the the car and drove to Tony's (Anthony Dutton - Professor at Valley City State University) old host family's house for dinner.  I had 3 tacos (with beef!) and tried flan (it was an okay taste but a really strange texture).  The host family (Diana, Ramon, and Guina) were so nice!  They reminded me a lot of  my Grandmoo and Pop-Pop.  I asked them about where I could get the Mexican equivalent of Aloe Vera and they showed me an actual Aloe Vera plant they had on their patio.  Diana cut me off some pieces and showed me the inside goo to rub on my sunburn.  I couldn't believe it!  It looked just like the gel.  

     After we said our goodbyes we headed back to the hotel and walked around the Malecon.  We are ice cream (I got some delicious orange flavor).  Jessica got Rose Petal flavored ice cream and I kid you not, it tasted just like a rose smells.  It was strange and boggled my mind.  I also tried some of Tony's.  He got corn flavor and it was weird.  

     After the ice cream, some of the girls wanted to walk up and down the Malecon.  I was originally going to go with them but by arm started to hurt so I went back to the hotel, took a rinse and soap off in the shower, and put the aloe on my sunburn. 

     Overall, it has been a large travelling day but a good day with lots of highlights.  

Mexico Trip - Day Two

March 8, 2013

     This morning started at 7am when we left the hotel to go whale watching.  We stopped at a cafe on the way for some drinks.  I had some delicious hot cocoa.  After being on the road for a bit we stopped for breakfast at a banos (bathroom) break.
     The place we stopped was beautiful, with many beautiful plants and flowers.  There was even a Mango Tree.  The banos were old fashioned (pee in a bucket) so I was really grateful that I did not have to go at the time.  Breakfast was an enchilada and burrito, so I decided to pass on that.  I ended up eating a pear, some yogurt and a clif bar and that was perfectly fine with me.  The yogurt was particularly bein (good).
     When everyone finished breakfast, we headed onto the road again.  We were traveling with our VCSU group and a small group of high school students from Conalep.  We travelled with them so we could practice our Spanish and they could practice their English.  They were really nice.
     When we arrived in Lopez Mateos, we strapped on life vests and hopped in a boat to go whale watching.  The sun was out, the area was beautiful. and the water was nice and cool.

     When we saw the first whale surface, it was amazing!! I've never seen anything like it.  They were majestic and beautiful.  And they would come right up to the boats!! I GOT TO PET A WHALE THREE TIMES!!!!!
     Their skin was smooth and rubbery.  It was a little squishier than I imagined it would be  but it felt really cool.  They would come up to the surface and blow their blowholes (I hot hit a few times). Lol.  It was such an amazing experience.  I thought we would see them from afar, not up close and get to touch them!  It was amazing!

     When we finished whale watching, we stopped at the sandbar on the way back to the dock to explore.  The sand was so warm and would blow around, erasing our tracks.  We climbed hills and meandered down them.  It was wonderful.  I took my empty water bottle and filled it with sand to take back home.  The sand was tan with black stripes.
     Once we made it back to the dock, we drove to a restaurant for lunch.  This meal was particularly stressful because one of our leaders ordered for us.  They knew I was not a fan of seafood because of previous meals.  I ended up with a plate of rice, tomatoes, lettuce, and what I think was beef.  I chose not to eat the beef (?) but enjoyed the rice in small corn tortillas.  The end of the meals seem to be really stressful because I am never hungry enough to finish the whole things so they always ask me if I am done and if I liked it.  But I have made it through the meals okay so far.  This was just the most stressful one.
     After lunch, we hopped back in the van and headed for Loreto.  Along the way, I tried Mexican Cheetos (delicious) and saw amazing landmarks.  The girls traveling with us from Mexico said they were not mountains but they sure looked like mountains to me!
     When we reached Loreto, we checked into our hotel, right on the beach.  I cannot believe the view of the water from out room!  It is gorgeous!
     We met up as a large group for supper - a  course meal of clams (cooked traditional style in the sand with fiery brush on top).  I was able to get a cheese quesadilla for dinner with everyone (do not like clams).  I was full after that so I passed on other courses but I tried the traditional wine made the way the missionaries used to make them in the mountains.  It was really sweet, a little too sweet for me (who knew that was possible with my huge sweet tooth!).  I also tried some red wine and Bailey's on the rocks.  Additionally, I tried the dessert with everyone.  It was date (the fruit) crepes with a strawberry and kiwi jelly-like sauce.  I really enjoyed the sauces and the overall crepe was decent.   It was a nice meal  (much less stressful than lunch).
     Now that dinner is over, I am chilling in my hotel room and I will probably take a shower and hit the hay so I am energized for tomorrow.  I need a little introverted time to regroup and recharge.   I also miss my boyfriend, Justin, and wish he was here to see all the beautiful sites and experiences with me.