Teopanzolco

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC9900" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="041005a0dwnjzk.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mexico Feb. 2006"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>     | </B><B> </B><B> </B><B>  </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Mexico Feb. 2006</B></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mexico City"><U><B>Mexico City</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>Teopanzolco</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Centro Cuernavaca"><U><B>Centro Cuernavaca</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tepoztlan"><U><B>Tepoztlan</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Taxco"><U><B>Taxco</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Centro Cuernavaca 2"><U><B>Centro Cuernavaca 2</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="People"><U><B>People</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Family"><U><B>Family</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Encuentros"><U><B>Encuentros</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Info"><U><B>Info</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.cnca.gob.mx/cnca/inah/zonarq/teopan.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cnca.gob.mx/cnca/inah/zonarq/"><U><IMG SRC="141694c0.jpg" border=0 width="873" height="332" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> If you want a brief history of the site in Spanish click the postcard image.</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="958" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 338 WIDTH="477"><div> Day 4: 13<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> of Feb. Monday</div> <div> Teopanzolco </div> <bR> <div> High Temp: 86. Joy's Birthday!!! Our first day of school and we were up by 7 am, it seems we get going much earlier than most people in this part of Mexico. Today Fernando drove us up to the school for our first day, in a van with two seats and a chair and a bench in the back. No seatbelt laws here like when I was a kid. We imposed for this ride or at least it felt that way. The school actually is only about three quarters of a mile from the house but still it was nice to ride. We had orientation at the school and for me at least it was very disorienting, we sat and listened mostly in Spanish so I began glazing over quickly, my comprehension is so poor. We were going to do a local trip today to some ruins in Cuernavaca, the Pyramid de Teopanzolco. <B>Teopanzolco</B> (te-o-ahn-ZOL-ko), historic site, NE Morelos, Mexico, 11 mi/17 km E of Cuernavaca, off of Mexico Highway 95. </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="0f2dc4c0.jpg" border=0 width="476" height="332" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 339 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="0f4dd4d0.jpg" border=0 width="477" height="333" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="470"><bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> This pyramid was discovered during the Mexican Revolution, when the site was used as a position for cannons attacking Cuernavaca. The concussions of the cannons displaced the surface dirt, revealing the pyramid. <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806135867/sr=8-1/qid=1144191813/ref=sr_1_1/002-6056828-6876025?%5Fencoding=UTF8" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806135"><U>The Tlahuica Indians built Teopanzolco in 1000</U></A> and had their capital in Cuernavaca. Later the Aztecs conquered the area and built another pyramid on top of the 1st one. There is a central plaza, a large pyramid, a smaller pyramid, rectangular platforms, and one circular platform at this site. Many of the platforms. Here are believed to have been constructed bet. 1200 and 1500. What was good is that when we all made our way over there in cars and taxis we had our teachers as guides with translation from the more advance students. </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 331 WIDTH="477"><bR> <bR> <div> The pyramids consisted of a large stone temple and about seven or eight small platforms. The largest was for the all important rain god while lesser gods each had there own for sacrifice and ritual. We got to climb around and it was a nice sunny day so it was great. When we got back to the school and were assigned the classes we would be in. I was naturally in the very beginner class, we covered days of the week, days, dates, numbers, really basic things. Then we began talking about the verb ser since it and estar are used so much in the language. Elisa met with Jinny and realized she had the wrong price for the cost of the school. We apparently have been looking at an old site for the school. We straightened it out though. At break time they had a birthday cake for Joy and everyone sung happy birthday in Spanish and in English. She was shy and cute. Here is the birthday song. </div> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="0f6d2450.jpg" border=0 width="466" height="325" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 339 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="0f8dd4d0.jpg" border=0 width="477" height="333" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="470"><div> LAS MA-ANITAS, The Mexican Birthday Song </div> <div> Most visitors who hear <I>Las Mañanitas</I> sung at a birthday celebration remark how much prettier it is than our more prosaic "Happy Birthday". And no wonder--<I>Las Mañanitas </I>(the name "Little Mornings" refers to the pre-dawn, or "wee hours") comes down to us from the old custom of serenading a lover at dawn. The song became traditional for celebration of people's Saint's days, since in old-time Mexico the anniversary of birth is much less important than the date on the Catholic calendar associated with the Saint a person is named after. However, in recent years, it's become the Birthday Song (and also the song used to serenade Mom on Mother's day) and is heard at parties, restaurants and birthday breaks in workplaces. There's no nicer way to celebrate Mexico than joining in on this lovely air--and it's even more fun to know what the words mean. </div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 457 WIDTH="477"><div> <I><B>LAS MA-ANITAS</B></I> </div> <div> Estas son las mañanitas que canataban el Rey David </div> <div> Hoy por ser dia de tu Santo te las cantamos aqui </div> <div> Despierta, me bien, despierta; mira ya que amanecio </div> <div> Ya los pajarillos cantan; la luna ya se metio </div> <div> <B>LITTLE MORNINGS</B> </div> <div> These are the little mornings that King David sang </div> <div> And since today is your Saint's day, we sing them to you </div> <div> Waken, my dear, awaken; see, it's already dawn </div> <div> The birds are all singing; and the moon has gone down </div> <bR> <div> Notice the phrase, <I>"dia de tu santo"</I>. The true celebration in Mexico is not really the anniversary of person's birth, but the day of their patron Saint, the Saint they are named after. So a little girl named Monica would get her celebration on the day of Santa Monica in the Catholic calendar. By the way, people with the same Saint's day are called <I>tocayos</I>, which is not quite the same as "namesake". If your name is Tom, that's not quite the same as Tomas, but you have the same Saint's day, so you are definitely <I>tocayos</I>. </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="0fa2db00.jpg" border=0 width="301" height="432" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>                            Nellie and Victor on the pyramid</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 348 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="108ea560.jpg" border=0 width="490" height="342" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="10ae9550.jpg" border=0 width="489" height="341" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 342 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="0fce1500.jpg" border=0 width="481" height="336" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="470"><div> We took a taxi back to the house in the afternoon, We paid $25 for the ride but probably should have only paid $20, it is like there is a tourist surcharge. Still the cabbie was a nice guy and chatted us up. The afternoon meal was very good when we arrived back to the house. We had fried fish, some kind of white flaky fish and fried <A HREF="http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1738,157190-243198,00.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1738,1571"><U>croquette potatoes</U></A> with ham in the center, very tasty. In the afternoon we went with Fernando to his ice cream shop. He rents a small space across from a primary school and about ten-minute drive from the house. It contained a fridge that was a bit spotty to get running to hold about a dozen five-gallon ice cream containers. Fernando for the first time was opening with all ice cream he had made and was very happy and proud of the accomplishment. The shop had a plastic table and chairs that could be put out on the sidewalk with an umbrella to shade them. The walls were decorated in a beach theme and the place was very nice. Fernando was such a friendly man he would most assuredly be a successful businessman. Owning your own business at 38 years old seems a good accomplishment.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 332 WIDTH="477"><bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Joy, Elisa and I spent some time there and then walked down the street to the little square nearby.  There was a political rally going on for the party PAN. Skateboarding kids and people going about there business made for crowded areas. Joy seemed to be missing home, it being her birthday she was a little distracted from enjoying the night. At about eight we went with Fernando to the local Wal-Mart and bought Joy a basketball and a cheesecake, and fruit cake for a nighttime birthday celebration. We went back to the house and had cake and singing again with many of the family there. Joy seemed a bit happier because of this although the cheesecake was just awful.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="24ad3460.jpg" border=0 width="467" height="326" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 339 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="100dd4d0.jpg" border=0 width="477" height="333" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="102db4b0.jpg" border=0 width="475" height="331" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div>  </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="1085" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 458 WIDTH="517"><div> Day 5 Feb. 14<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> Saint Valentines Day Tuesday</div> <div> High Temp: 90. We (there were only 3 in the class, Victor, Nellie and I) were shown in the morning where to catch the number ten bus that run up to the school.  Senora _____ walked us there and told us the cost was 4.5 pesos a person. It was a very bumpy jarring ride but we managed to pay attention enough to get off in the right place, the corner of Calle Morelos, and walk down to the school. The day at school felt so long Maestra Teresa taught us about the verb “puedes”, can you. Puedes prender la luz, por favor? Can you turn on the light, please? We continued working on the verb ser - to be because it and estar have particular place and condition each gets used. It was difficult and where the teacher did not speak almost any English it was a lot of work to understand what was going on at times. The second class of the day was Pronunciation, a lot of reading aloud to get the sound made when speaking in Spanish. The third part of the day was survival Spanish</div> <div> A fun class with a slightly larger group where we learned how to ask for the common things we would need in daily life, a razor, bathroom tissue, etc. The class was a bit repetitious but we made the most of it. When classes were over for the day Joy Elisa and I walked down the street to an Internet café and cleaned out our email and replied where necessary. It cost about 10 pesos for the 30 minutes we spent. We then caught the bus back to the house and had a very delicious meal of Beef Steak, with onions and chili powder, fried Potato croquettes with coriander in them and rice, some zucchini dish that was tomato tasting with a spicy sauce, Mellon juice drink to wash it down, just an excellent meal.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1042da20.jpg" border=0 width="557" height="418" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 342 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="10cda4b0.jpg" border=0 width="474" height="331" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="557"><bR> <bR> <div> I found this the low point for me, trying to understand all the Spanish was really tiring me out and I found myself sort of hiding in the room a bit. Still Elisa and I really tried to stay out and talk with our family. We tried to find out what they did and what life was like. They are a religious family and tightly knit. I wondered why the one daughter Sandi cried so much when she left to go back to Monterey and found out that she only gets to visit once a year most years even though the city she lives in is only a 3 hour bus ride away. Fernando and his nephews work hard most nights out back of the house making ice cream by hand. Both Jorge and Daniel go to college one working on a degree in business and the other accounting. Senora _____ and Laura work hard all day in the home, making meals cleaning and doing laundry and ironing, it seemed they worked from the time they got up to the time they went to bed. Reminded me of many of the lower middle class families I grew up around. Good hard working people in close families.</div> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 329 WIDTH="517"><div>   Talked about US politics a bit and I was nervous initially about bringing up the subject. It is always a tricky thing where neither wants to offend the other. Being a liberal though I had better get my conversations in since back at home it may soon be illegal to disagree with the government. Neither Senora, nor Laura had any like for the Bush administration. Good at least we have that in common. Mexico has a big election this year in both the state and federal side. There are ads all over the television for the different parties. The conversations we had were short because of the whole language thing but it seems the Iraq war is a real trouble spot for the Mexicans the family know. Also saw an interesting conversation between the ladies of the house and Elisa when they were asking her what middle class families had to have two incomes so both adults work full time out of the household and thus we tend to split up housework instead of the women doing all of it. Elisa made me look much better than I am in saying I cook a lot and help with the cleaning. Thanks Babe! Played basketball with joy as evening rolled in. It had been a hot day with temps in the upper eighties.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="106af430.jpg" border=0 width="431" height="323" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 362 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="10ffe640.jpg" border=0 width="510" height="356" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="557"><bR> <bR> <div> Day 7 Feb. 15<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> Wednesday </div> <div> High Temp: 91. Up before 7 and listening to a <A HREF="http://www.stephenking.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.stephenking.com/"><U>Stephen King book on CD “Cell”</U></A>, decent story although I often think when reading or listening to him that he pads too much, trying to stretch out sequences to create tension or anticipation but often only creating aggravation for the reader or listener. A beautiful day but in the morning you could tell it was going to be hot. School moved more quickly and felt easier. In survival Spanish we took turns being a waiter taking orders and customers ordering food. It was a lot of fun and we laugh quite a bit. Another good meal at the house afterwards, jamaica water Beefsteak, rice and tortillas. Hung around the house at night.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Centro Cuernavaca"><U>On to page 4</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>   </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>