Then I Was Back Home

Oh man. Before I knew it I was home in Chicago.

Actually, I wasn't home because I don't have my own place, but I came home to Miki and Kate's which is just about as good as it can get. The Greenbergs had dinner ready for me when I got there and it was great to see Sidione and Gisselle. I slept on the Greenberg couch for 2 weeks.

Culturally, I jumped right back into the scene, too. Most significantly, Jazz Fest took place on my first weekend back. I got to hear concerts by Sonny Rollins, Dave Douglas and Ornette Coleman, all free, in one weekend. Those are three of my very favorite jazz acts.

Plus two Cubs games in the first week of being back in town. Pretty good.

So there you have it. Now I'm living with Brad and Julie and saving up some money to get my own place. I hope I'll be able to have an apartment in November.

I'm back teaching at the Old Town School and Rogers Park Montessori. Everything is going great. I learned so much during my travels, about people and about life, and I've been able to bring a whole new energy to my classes.

It's hard to imagine that this is only my 3rd year teaching full-time. Can you imagine that I ever did anything different? I can't.

Well, thanks for reading! Drop me a line when you get a chance.

Buena suerte,
Jason

Fin de Mi Viaje

Yeah, so this is it. The last couple days.

For my second trip into México D.F. I stayed with Stephan and his friend Florian. Stephan is in México D.F. studying business administration until Christmas.
The night I arrived we went to see the National Fútbol Team in Estadio Azteca, which is the fifth largest stadium in the world.

We had a great time at the game. México beat Honduras 2-1. Without all the commercial breaks and everything that you get in the states, it seemed like the game was over before we knew it. It was awesome to hear 112,000 people sing Cielito Lindo for the last five minutes or so of the game.
The next day Florian and I went to the National Museum of Anthropology, which tells the pre-Columbian history of México. The museum was huge and very impressive. We were there for about 3 hours and only saw about half of it.

That evening we found some dinner and headed off to the Torre Latinoamericana; one of the tallest buildings in the city. We spent some time up on the observatory. That is México D.F. in the background. See the bright lights on the right side, near my elbow? That's el zocalo de México D.F. - the center of the whole place. Wow.
It's strange. This is basically my last moment in México. I don't really know what to say about it. I didn't then either.

The very next morning I got up and headed out to the airport. It was time to get back home.

Barbacoa with Don Beto

This was my favorite place to eat in Cuernavaca. It's called Barbacoa de Don Beto. Barbacoa is slow-cocked sheep. One of the cool things about eating in México is that a place like this only has one thing on the menu: barbacoa tacos. That's it. And they were great!

Don Beto was out there Monday through Saturday. I'm not sure what time he opened, but he was always closed by 2:00 in the afternoon. Many times I wasn't paying attention to the time and missed my chance for the day.
This is me and Don Beto right after my last meal in Cuernavaca. Just before this I played a few tunes on the banjo for everyone and they gave me my lunch gratis. It was really fun. Everyone was clapping and having a grand time. I'm sure a couple jokes were made at my expense, but Don Beto wasn't going to have any of it.

From here I got on the bus to México D.F. Adios Cuernavaca. Estuve muy triste.

The Restaurant with the Peacocks

When my dad was in his late teens he lived near Mexico City with my grandparents and my aunt and uncle. My grandpa was working for Ford and he was there to help them open a factory.

When the family was there, they visited a restaurant that had a courtyard with live peacocks walking around near the dining tables.

I had heard about this restaurant many times growing up, and it turns out the restaurant is called Las Manañitas; the swankiest restaurant in Cuernavaca.

I met up with Merecedes, Karla and Pete for some drinks there. It was pretty dark by the time we got there, so the peacocks weren't really out too much. I did see one real quickly though.

It was a nice time. Very expensive, but worth it.

Algunas Personas in Cuernavaca

I met so many people in Cuernavaca! The last few days I spent a lot of time trying to catch up with as many of them as possible. Here's a few pictures.

Toño

Eric ("El Gobernador")

Paola (mi maestra de lingua de jovenes)

Alejandro the building manager of the Starbucks shopping center.

EmilianoSocoro and her son Alejandro

Socoro and Alejandro lived next door to my house in Cuernavaca. Socoro runs a small bazaar out of the front of her house. You can buy DVDs, luggage, bedding, cloths, jewelry and many other things. Her and Alejandro where you there every day.

She was a very nice lady and helped me quite a bit with my español. She always said, "Cuidado, Jason. Cuidado." That means "be careful." She was always looking out for me. I miss seeing her in the mornings.

Mi Famalia en México

Here's a picture of the family I lived with in Cuernavaca. I wish the picture wasn't so blurry!
That's Jorge on the left. He's the father and that's who I rented the room from. Jorge Jr. is next to him. He lives in the house, too. That's Margarita next. Margarita is Jorge's daughter (Jorge Jr.'s sister). Next is Nesi, Margarita's husband. And then last Margarita and Nesi's son, little Roberto! He is a very cool kid. We did A LOT of laughing together.

Margarita and Nesi have their own place closer to el centro, but Margarita and Roberto stayed at the house for about a month while Nesi was out of town on business. He's an archeoligist and was out on a dig. Isn't that awesome?

As a side note, I took this photo just hours before my big "sickness". I was so sick that I truly thought that if it was going to keep going, I'd rather be dead. Luckily I survived. The first meal I had when I was feeling better was KFC. That was the only time during the trip that I specifically set out to find "home cooking".

Volví

Yeah, so I'm back. I hope you weren't worried.

Someone I have very little to do today, so it's time to finish up the postings about my adventures en México.

Meanwhile, it's good to be home and not teaching on Saturdays.

Here it goes. The dramatic conclusion of Jason Goes to Mexico 2008.