Day Two - Orientation at the University of Texas

So I was up at the crack of dawn (no surprise), and decided to get out of the room early and explore the city of Austin. Since the hotel is right in the heart of downtown, I had a fun time walking around and finding some hidden Austin “treasures”.

As I walked by Ladybird Lake, I found a platform with some awesome engraved metal maps. There was one showing what Austin looked like in 1889. How cool!

Then I walked across the Congress Avenue Bridge again and came upon a sculpture called “Nightwing”, a tribute to the city’s most famous residents – the bats that live under the bridge!

Our program orientation is being held on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. It was a quick 10-minute shuttle ride to the campus and we got started right away! Our first session was called “Pyramid Builders Had to Eat” and discussed the ancient Maya. The big takeaway from this lecture was that although this civilization make some great achievements, there were a lot of people who weren’t doing any of the things that we see visual remains of today (there were many people providing food to feed the pyramid builders! Our next session was called “Mexico: From Decolonization to Democracy.” I enjoyed this lecture because it reminded me of many of the historical facts I learned from Professor Appelbaum back in Binghamton, but had forgotten over the past few years. It’s great to have this knowledge stirred up again! Our final lecture of the day was “Paths to Sustainability in Rural Veracruz” and discussed the poverty in Veracruz and ways that the people are trying to improve their standard of living by selling such things as coffee and limes (Did you know that Veracruz is the #1 lime producer in the world?!).

Perhaps the best part of today’s experience at UT-Austin was a trip to the Benson Latin American Collection, part of the University’s library. Some of the artifacts we saw were: A letter from Hernan Cortes to the Spanish king, original drawings from Tlaxcala (including one of Dona Marina, or La Malinche), a 1577 questionnaire from the Yucatan, a 16th century dictionary, and a Sor Juana original book (Sor Juana was a nun and poet who lived in Mexico in the 1600s).  *The pictures are in order from left to right*

Tomorrow we’ll be discussing our curriculum projects (what we are asked to produce at the end of our trip – basically, a unit to teach to our kids next year) and other incidentals before we leave for Cancun on Wednesday. I’m hoping the weather holds up, as I’ve heard that Tropical Storm Alex is passing through southeastern Mexico right now. It’s off for some Tex-Mex for dinner now and then perhaps some more bat-watching!

And so it begins...Day One and my first experiences in Austin, Texas!

Whew, what a long and exhausting day! After a late night trip to Target last night (at 10:30pm), I was finally packed and ready for my trip around midnight. Of course, in anticipation of the big day, I hardly slept a wink, and then decided to back-up the files on my laptop at 5:15 in the morning.  I ate some yummy chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, said goodbye to Ritz, aka the best kitten in the world, and then went to Mom’s house to bid adieu to the family.

Once I said goodbye to Tim at the airport curb, I was on my own…and boy, did it take a while to get to where I needed to be! So, since I didn’t do my research beforehand, I found out at the airport that checked luggage up to 50 pounds comes with a charge of $25. Luckily, my humongous suitcase weighed in at a mere 46.5 pounds. It took two lines and an hour and a half before I finally checked my luggage, paid my fee, and went through security. But finally, I was at my gate and on my way. I had to take two flights – one from New York City – LaGuardia to Dallas, Texas, which was exactly three hours, and then another from Dallas to Austin, Texas, which was only 35 minutes! The flights were okay… a little too uneasy for me and my tummy, but I made it just fine....with the help of some Animal Cracker friends!

        

After getting off in Austin, a few of us Fulbrighters met up together and made our way to the baggage claim and then the SuperShuttle, gradually adding more members to our group as we went along. After a quick 10 minute ride from the airport with a very knowledgeable driver (who told us that Austin is home to 21 law enforcement agencies, and that Sandra Bullock owns two Tex-Mex restaurants in the area), we were at the Radisson Hotel, located in the heart of downtown Austin and right on the water! For the three nights in Texas, I am sharing my room with a girl named Tanya, who seems really nice. In fact, after meeting the group today and spending the evening with them, it appears that everyone on this trip is coming with good spirits!

 

Once settled in our rooms, it was time to get going and meet our orientation guide Chris for a quick walk across the Congress Avenue Bridge to our dinner cruise.

What a lovely time we had…there was good food (make-your-own nachos and fajitas), lots of conversation, and nice weather (a balmy 90 degrees or so, which gradually got cooler as the night progressed). The cool part about our evening was that our boat traveled along the Ladybird Town Lake and under the Congress Avenue Bridge, which is home to a colony of over one million bats that come out every night to feast on the local mosquitoes (a fact from our shuttle driver today is that these bats eat 97% of the mosquitoes in Austin…that means they have the pests under control!). After our boat docked, we walked back under the bridge and saw the start of the emerging colony…how cool to see these bats on their way to dinner!  (It was hard to get images of the bats, but I'll try again tomorrow...)

                                  

Tomorrow begins our orientation at the University of Texas, where we’ll spend much time discussing Mexican history and culture. I took some time today on the plane to read some papers I wrote in college for my Latin America history classes…how lucky I was to be a LACAS minor! I also started reading a book called Latin American Heroes. It was definitely interesting to brush up on some history and re-read the stories of La Malinche and Benito Juarez. I feel like I am in Mexico already! Well…only three more days, and I will be! Until next time…

Sharing the News

So with only five days left before the big trip, I still have LOTS to do!  I started packing last night (finally!) after my best friend Adela and I did some clothes shopping...now I have even more tops to bring with me.  I took care of a lot of end-of-year school duties today...taking down some in-class bulletin boards, finishing up some projects with my students, making copies of summer work for next year's class, etc. 

Perhaps the most important thing I did today was share the news of my trip with my kids.  Although they knew I was going to Mexico for much of the summer, they didn't really know the details.  I told them I would be leaving on Sunday and that I wouldn't be in school for the last day on Monday.  They seemed a little disappointed, but were then excited to learn that I was keeping an online journal of my trip.  :-)   Here are some notes just for them:

These are some things I need to keep in mind while in Mexico...
*Take a picture of churros (for Steven)
*Take a picture of the fried grasshoppers and ant eggs (for everyone!)
*Check to see if the Gulf oil spill has reached the coast of Mexico (for Janelle)
*Look for Eliomar's grandma's house in one of the small towns (it has a big blue door)

As I get the final details in order - finish things in my classroom, pack my luggage, print out tons of documents, get my electronic equipment ready (laptop, cameras, Adela's camcorder), and prepare to say goodbye to so many people - I'm happy to say that I am thrilled that June 27th is almost here.  I am extremely excited for my trip south of the border.  I'm confident that this will be an extraordinary journey and one that I will benefit from in more ways than I can even imagine.  My next update will come to you live from Austin, Texas.  See ya'll soon!

The Itinerary Arrives!

I was so excited today when my trip leader, Jacques, sent an e-mail with the tentative itinerary for the upcoming trip.  I can't believe that I leave for my Fulbright orientation in Austin, TX in LESS THAN 3 weeks!  I have mixed feelings as I prepare for the trip...I am ecstatic to begin a month-long journey across southeastern Mexico, but as it turns out, I leave for Austin on Sunday the 27th, one day before the last day of school in New York City.  That means...

1. I'll miss the last day of school with my kids.  :-(
2. I still have to prepare for the end of the school year, while trying to organize my life before I leave.
3. When on Earth am I going to find the time to pack?!?!?!?

But, on the bright side, after our orientation in Austin, we'll be off to Cancún, staying at the Hotel Presidente Intercontinental for the first night!  I already looked up our hotels online, and needless to say, I am very impressed!  They all look amazing and most all of them have pools...to cool off on those deliriously hot summer days!  Cancún included, here's the basic guideline we'll follow:

June 30 - Cancún, Quintana Roo
July 1 - Valladolid, Yucatán
July 2-4 - Mérida, Yucatán
July 5-6 - Campeche, Campeche
July 7-8 - Palenque, Chiapas
July 9-12 - San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
July 13 - Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
July 14-17 - Oaxaca, Oaxaca
July 18-19 - Veracruz, Veracruz
July 20-21 - Xalapa, Veracruz
July 22-23 - Puebla, Puebla
July 24-30 - Mexico City, DF

Of all the states we'll be visiting, I think I am most excited to spend time in Chiapas.  Much of this stems from a Comparative Politics course I took in college, where I wrote a paper on the Zapatista movement in Chiapas.  During my trip, I should have the opportunity to visit two indigenous communities: San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán, and go to a lecture entitled "An Overview of Chiapas in Images: from textiles to migration and Zapatismo."  Basically, this trip fits in nicely with my college research...how cool! 

Well, if I'm going to start packing eventually, I've got to empty my suitcase of the books I got from a recent Project Cicero event...here goes nothing!