Tijuana

 

In Tijuana I met some incredible people from Couch Surfing that took me all around the city and gave me a place to stay for a couple nights.  We sang Karaoke, ate great food and had some amazing conversations! 

It was a really interesting experience to be so close to the boarder and not be able to cross it... To be in a city that basically has a wall up everywhere you went....  It even extends into the ocean....  

If you look closely on the wall it says "Bi national Friendship Garden"

There was an area across from the airport where an artist had put up crosses along the wall to represent all the people that died crossing the boarder.  Some of the crosses had names and ages of the people that died.  It was a very moving experience.  We stopped to take a picture and just happened to stop in front of a cross of a 27 year old guy.  It made me think of my parents and what if that were me. 

On a lighter note, we went and saw a statue of a naked women that some guy had built like a skyscraper in the front of his house.  If you look closely you can see the area where people can climb up and see the whole city.  Hehehehe!! 

Here are a few other pics.  :).

View overlooking the city of Tijuana.

A hole in the old wall looking at the new wall

A donkey painted to look like a zebra that tourists take pictures with on Calle Revolucion. 

Security cameras everywhere!

Me in a cactus garden.  Its actually really pretty.  Watch where you step!  hahaha

It says "We are not fish to live in the sea, not birds that fly in the sky, we are humans that live in the land"

ROTARY CLUB TIJUANA!

Christmas, New years, and across the border

I lot has been happening lately and I finally have time to catch you all up on it.  I left Guadalajara (GDL) on Dec 13th and started my travels by visiting my friend Thalia in Dallas, TX.  We had a super fun weekend together.  It was great to be able to catch up and reconnect!  Her apartment is awesome!!  Overall I had a great time! 

Thalia and I!  It was so great to see her! 

View from her apartment of downtown Dallas

Christmas tree made of car parts.

My next destination was Chicago!  But I only stayed long enough to rent a car and drive up north.  It was a little disappointing to arrive to Wisconsin and not see any snow, but the universe quickly remedied that with a big snow storm that kept everyone in the house for two days straight.  Quality family bonding time!! Hahaha. I left for a weekend with my dad to go visit my sister's family and see the babies. They are growing so big!  

Miles eating carrots.  As you can see, it takes a lot of concentration. 

Camille sleeping like an angel!

We got back to WI just in time for Christmas Eve. Spent a great day making Christmas cookies and pie and then proceeded to eat more than what I thought was biologically possible. :). 

10 inches in one day! 

After another snow storm that made my mom convince me to leave for Chicago 5 hours early I made it safely back to the airport and on a plane to LAX. Kali picked me up from the airport 

and spent the entire time I was there laughing, reminiscing, and hanging out in the city. 

LA Skyline

I rang in the new year with Kali and her fam.... And "drinks & drama" and prepared myself for another trip across the boarder. 

Day of the Dead

Last weekend, November 2nd, was Dia de Muertos, or Day of the Dead.  I wanted to give you all a little history in case you didn't know that much about it.  Then, I will show you the pictures.....

The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back to its indigenous pagan cultures. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors had been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years.  In the pre-Hispanic era, skulls were commonly kept as trophies and displayed during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.  In most regions of Mexico, November 1 is to honor children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2. This is indicated by generally referring to November 1 mainly as Día de los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) and November 2 as Día de los Muertos.

People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.  Sometimes people drive their cars into the cemetaries and play music, drink and dance on the grave sites of loved ones in order to honor and remember them.  

Alter set up at the mall

No one at the house build any alters, but I went to the mall in the afternoon and there was a big alter set up to honor various people of Jalisco.  















You can see the candy skulls and the Mexican marigolds which in Mexican tradition has always been a flower that attracts souls of the dead. 

Then later in the night we went to a cemetery and got to heal all the legends and ghost stories of Guadalajara.  The cemetery that we went to is one of the oldest in the city.  It was a real cemetery where they buried real people, but it became full and they stopped selling plots in the 1800s.  It was really cool to see all the decorations, but unfortunately they didn't allow anyone to take pictures.  The next day, I went downtown to the Plaza de Las Armas and saw a skeleton art exhibit.  They were skeletons made my students from many of the different universities around Guadalajara.  Here are some that I thought were the best!! :)

HAHAH!  Just kidding, these are real people, not skeletons!!  Fooled you! 

Thought the painting on this head was really cool!

Its like pirate skeleton means zombie skeleton. 

I want this dress, but I don't think they make it in my size!  jajaja..

Creepy.. but cool!

PEACE

Watermelon Theme

This one has the world in one hand the a dove in the other.  (The dove is also a skeleton)

Long Time

Hey all,

Its been a long time since I've written anything new... I know I know.. I'm a slacker.  I dont know if it was delayed culture shock or just a few bad experiences in a row that threw me off.  If you ask my dad he will tell you flat out.  "Amanda, she just lost her mojo!"  hahahaha.

To make a long story short, there was a lot of stuff happening at school, a few things going on at work, some things going on at home and a bunch of stuff going on with friends.  Somewhere a long the line of all of this, I managed to lose my confidence (i.e. my mojo).  It wasn't anything bad, I didn't get hurt, school is still going well, but something changed and I just started having a really hard time with EVERYTHING.  Everything from the bus driver wasn't understanding me, I had to explain to my teach literally 15 times how to spell AMANDA and various other exceedingly small super frustrating situations.  So the month of October has been to say the least a trial in pacients and self preservation.

Then, I had a long conversation with myself (the voices inside my head participated equally) :) and came to the conclusion that I needed to do something to get my mojo back!!  So, I called up a friend and decided to take a trip to Mazatlan for the weekend.  It was the best decision I could have made.

Maybe she was hanging out with her!  :)

I found my mojo, apparently she missed the sun and the sand, because she was right there on the beaches of Mazatlan!  Confident, full of life and energy and ready to come with me back to Guadalajara for our next adventure!!  :)

I left after class on Saturday.  Went out with a friend on Saturday night, met some new friends on Sunday, spend the day on Monday on the beach and by the pool, and then came back to Guadalajara on Tuesday morning.  It was super fun and super relaxing!! 

This weekend is the day of the dead, and there should be lots to talk about, from visiting cemetaries to decorating alters and semaforo parties!  :) I will have lots more pictures and lots more adventures to tell you about on Monday!  See you then!!