September 7-13-Queretaro

Queretaro!!! On Monday we left for Queretaro and got to stop in San Miguel. It is a BEAUTIFUL town (right Grammie and Karen?), and we were able to stop for 2 or 3 hours. It definitely wasn’t long enough because I didn’t even get to the downtown area that’s supposedly gorgeous. But it was so nice to have time to ourselves, and a group of us had a really nice lunch at a little café. We were all very happy not to have a schedule of things to do, even if it was just for that short amount of time. I’m used to it at this point, but we really don’t have any freedom!
We arrived in Queretaro that evening, and had an awesome welcoming by two guest artists. The first was a musical group that played ancient indigenous music. They used all different kinds of instruments like turtle shells and deer antlers. The next was an all blind choir. They blew us away with how amazing they were! They sang some songs in English such as “Stand By Me”, then they sang some Mexican songs. They ended with “Viva La Gente”, which is Up With People’s theme song but in Spanish. It’s so cool that everyone here knows it! We got picked up by our host families that night and went home with them. I am staying with the most generous and loving family!! My host mom is Raquel, and my host dad is Sergio, and they have 4 kids all teenagers. My host mom has like 6 sisters, and 2 of them are also hosting Up With People students and live very close, so that is fun. Their house is unbelievable! They are in the business of making rod iron things (like the stuff you like mom and dad!), so you guys would love their house! I’m trying to see if I can get something sent to you! I actually didn’t get to spend too much time with the family this week because all the kids have school, and Raquel had just had foot surgery, so wasn’t able to leave the house much. But I love them so much, and they keep saying “mi casa es su casa”.
On Tuesday I went in the morning to a place called Adulto Mayor, which is a center for senior citizens (you know how I love the old people). It was a really nice facility for them, and we just got to interact with them all day. Haruna and I got to participate in their cooking class. We made a type of vegetarian mole, which turned out too spicy for my taste, but we had so much fun. Later, we attended their theater class. It was so cute! They put on a little skit for us, and we got to dance a little with them too. It was very fun. I think I mentioned in previously, but each week each country gets to present on their culture. So this week was France. We learned some of their history, saw pictures, and sang some French songs. So far we have learned about the US, Mexico, China, and France. It’s really cool to learn more about each other’s cultures, especially because it is coming from someone from that country. That night, our schedule said we were going to the “theater”. Well, they surprised us with a private lucha libre show! If you don’t know what that is, it’s the pretend Mexican wrestling where they wear those crazy masks. It’s huge in Mexico. So we got a free, private show in a big arena, and we had a BLAST! Each round, two wrestlers fight, and the crowd gets to pick which wrestler to cheer for. We had so much fun yelling in Spanish things like “levantate” (get up!), and “mi abuelita es mas fuerte!” (my grandma is stronger!). Hehe. What a nice surprise.
On Wednesday a small group of us went to drug rehabilitation home called Hogares San Fransisco. This place houses anywhere for 20-100 men and women, for an 8 week rahab program. What is interesting about this place is that you have to check yourself in, meaning all the people there want to be there. We worked doing manual labor in their green house in the morning, then we got to participate in one of their support groups. It was really cool. And it was interesting to note that drug problems are everywhere, and to see the similarities in rehab programs from the ones I’ve seen in the states. That afternoon we did a education workshop called “hot topics”. Basically, we break up into small groups, and they give us a certain topic to discuss and questions to answer. That day, we talked about abortion. We discussed whether it should be controlled by the government, what the laws are in your country, etc. It was cool to see the similarities and differences in views between people from different cultures. After that (like I said, the days are jam packed!), we went to meet the municipal president of Queretaro. He said a nice little speech for us, we gave him a signed cast picture, and we sang a song for him. It was pretty cool. We felt special.
On Thursday, we had a meeting for all of the interns. Next week is my last week as the dance intern, and I’m really sad. It has been a great experience, and I don’t really want it to end yet . We had rehearsal later in the day, and it’s fun because I am starting to run the rehearsals a little bit more. I’ve learned so much, as far as how to look at the show critically, how the show works behind the scenes, and how to fix certain problems. Later that day we walked to a church called Iglesia Santa Rosa where we had a host family pot luck. It was so fun to get all the families together, and you know with Mexicans there was PLENTY of food! The church was cool because it had something called El Arbol de las Cruces. The legend says that a man stopped to rest at the place where the church is now, and put his things down and went to get some water (I’m kinda making the details up because I didn’t catch all of the Spanish). Basically though, when he came back, a tree had bloomed, and this tree has thorns that look like crosses. So he thought it was a sign, yadda, yadda, and they built a church. If you take a look at my pictures, the thorns really do look like crosses! It’s really cool.
The next day we had a BTS at a local school. I forget if I explained what a BTS was, but it stands for backing track show, and it is basically a mini promotional show that we do in communities to reach more people. Let me tell you, these little elementary and middle school kids were the best audience I’d ever seen!! They screamed so loud for us, and were So enthusiastic! It was great. Later that afternoon we had a scavenger hunt, but basically my group decided to just walk around the city and explore. We stopped for Mexican hot chocolate, browsed the tiendas, and took some funny pictures. That evening we walked around downtown Queretaro with my host mom’s sister, Ana. We ended up having a nice glass of wine on a rooftop which overlooked the beautiful city. I love Queretaro!
Saturday was our first double show day!! We had a matinee show at 3, and another at 8. The first show didn’t have too great of a turn out, but the second one was awesome! It was an exhausting day, but so worth it (as always).
Today I went for a nice run with Anna (Minnesota) at the park nearby, then our host families took us to a little town called Bernal. It’s an adorable little town, which houses one of 3 magnetic mountains in the world. I’m still trying to understand exactly what it was, as I’m clearly not fluent in Spanish, but from what I understand it is a large rock formation that has magnetic properties, and no one knows exactly how it got there. People say the magnetism brings good energy, so people flock there all year round. It was gorgeous! We took a walking tour, but it started to rain so we had to cut it short. We had gorditas for lunch, which are absolutely nothing like what they have a taco bell if anyone has had those. They were made with a black corn on a big flat grill, then stuffed with different ingredients like cheese and mushrooms or meat. Soooo yummy! It was a really great day, and I just love my host parents! They are so sweet. I will be sad to leave tomorrow!
Good news! Up With People got asked to be on TV tomorrow. They could only take a few people, and I was chosen! I’m so excited! So, I’ll let you know the details of when you might be able to see it as soon as I know! I have no idea when it will be on, but I think it will play in the US. I guess it will be on a show similar to NBCs Good Morning America or something like that. Wohoo! Anyway, I guess I need to get my beauty rest for tomorrow! Peace and love