My Blog

Saturday February 21, 2009 - After dinner last night many of us returned to the Galleria Plaza Hotel. There is a very relaxing area at the rear of the bar with couches and comfortable lounge chairs. As we arrived we moved our chairs into a circle and as more people arrived the circle grew larger. Ancient Meso-Americans like the Aztecs and Purepechas believed that circles represented life as represented in the Rain God Tlaloc’s large circles on his head. They further believed that a broken circle represented incomplete life so it was ironic that last night we formed an unbroken circle to share our weeklong experiences and appreciation for having shared this past week together. The symbolism in this can’t be lost in the fact that 7 days ago 33 individuals from across the United States and Canada with different expectations for their visit and different views of life, boarded a bus in Mexico City hoping to eventually get a glimpse of Monarch Butterflies, but instead each got a glimpse into their own hearts. In a way this complete circle of chairs in this room tonight symbolized that we were all now connected by the memories of such shared experiences and emotions such as the sights of millions of Monarch butterflies, the display of music and dance at the school of our new friends on the Island of Pacanda. This circle of chairs also symbolizes that all of us have been forever changed by the events of the past week; we have grown emotionally and intellectually, by opening our minds and our hearts to new shared experiences that will forever connect us. I have participated in 4 trips to Mexico with over a hundred different people and each one of us them have helped define who I am by sharing their knowledge, life and classroom experiences and most importantly their passion for teaching, willingness to learn new things and then sharing them with their students.

My alarm clock went off at 5am this morning because I had to be downstairs in the hotel lobby by 6am to get a cab to Mexico City Airport. Joined by Miss Hope, Mr. Mollenhauer, Mrs. Meridyth Duke, Mrs. Sally Burns, Mrs. Kathryn Holley and her husband Al, all from West Milford, New Jersey, as well as Ms. Mary Lenahan, 5^th grade teacher from Ventnor, New Jersey, 4^th grade teacher Anne Herriot and her husband Fred Immerman from Suffern, New York, 4^th grade teacher Debra D’Angelis from Port Murray, New Jersey and Jefferson Township New Jersey Middle School teacher Christine Stewart we boarded to large vans and made our way to the airport. We checked our bags and by 8am were at gate 52 awaiting our 8:25am boarding time. At exactly 9:00 Continental flight 1741 was packed the door was shut and we began backing away from the airport terminal to begin our 5 hour flight back to Newark, New Jersey, where we eventually arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule at 2:30 pm.

Ending a week such as the one that we all shared is never easy. It is an emotional roller coaster of a week that really teaches us a lot about each other, respect for the indomitability of the Monarch butterflies, a respect for the natural world, a respect for different cultures, respect for people who really value the bountiful harvest that Mother Earth has to offer, as well as teaches us to really appreciate the simple things that so many of us take for granted.

Although ending a week of such wonderful experiences is never easy I am comforted by the fact that I now have the new found knowledge to pass on what I’ve learned to my students and family with a renewed and re-energized passion. Every teacher regardless of whether they’ve taught for 20 or more years or are new to the teaching profession should take advantage of opportunities like I had to experience learning that helps create real-life connections as well as global-connections. As the world gets wired or should I say wireless, connected by satellite, internet and cell phones, it becomes a much smaller place, therefore it becomes every teacher’s ethical responsibility to prepare their students and educate them to be able to communicate with others in a peaceful way in the world that they will one day inherit.

It has sincerely been my pleasure sharing my journey with all of you and hope that my passion for Mexico, the Monarchs, my appreciation and respect for Mother Earth, new cultures such as the Purepecha that you may not have known about before, and a renewed appreciation for teaching and learning inspires you to want to actively participate in helping to make the world that we all live in a better place for all of us regardless of the places we live, the language that we speak or the color of our skin. I am forever grateful for having everyone follow my 2009 Mexican Journey and as always I hope that you all experience –

Friday February 20, 2009 - We boarded the bus this morning at 8:30 am at the Galleria Plaza Hotel in Mexico City for our final day together. Our destination today is a place that is very special to the people of

Mexico

, and who dominates much of Mexican life, culture and history, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Several thousand people visit the Shrine every day and every year on the Feast Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12th millions of people make the pilgrimage to the Shrine. The history of how the first church was built goes like this: In the year 1531 Juan Diego, a native, who lived just north of Mexico City and who used to come to the market in Mexico City, was atop Tepeyac hill when an image of Mary, the mother of Jesus known to Mexicans as the Virgin of Guadalupe, whose image appeared to him on three occasions asking him to go to the local officials to build a church in her honor. On the third occasion he told the Virgin that he needed a miracle to prove to the local officials that she was real so she gave him a handful of roses and he placed the roses in his vestments that he wore.

Juan Diego immediately went to visit the Bishop to present the roses to him as proof of his meeting with the virgin, as he handed over the flowers, an image of the Virgin was revealed on the vestment he was wearing. Since there were no flowers to be found anywhere near the mountain and it was winter time, and an incredible image of the Virgin was emblazoned on Juan Diego's vestment it was believed that Juan Diego did in fact have this meeting and the local officials had a church built on the site where the meeting took place. The coat was then encased in glass and has hung in the various churches that have been built on the site over the last 500 years. The tilma, as it is called, of the Virgin has been authenticated over the years with various miraculous powers. When exposed to light one of the eyes dilates, also when observed under a high power microscope the right eye reveals reflections of many people in a crowd. The tilma also maintains a temperature of 98.6 degrees, the same as a humn body. When once analyzed by a doctor, the tilma was said to have had a heartbeat of 115 beats per minute. No paint has ever been discovered on the Tilma. When analyzed by NASA scientists from a distance of 3 inches, the paint disappears and one can only see the maguey cactus fiber the cloak was made with. NASA scientists also have determined that there is no paint on the Tilma and the paint material do not belong to any known material on earth, and there are no brush strokes on it, and the colors actually hover 1/100th of an inch over the cloth, never touching it. In addition the life span of the cloth is approximately 40 years yet it has survived for almost 500 years, an amazing amount of time. In addition, in 1921 a bomb was placed in a flower pot just beneath the Tilma. The bomb went off damaging the church but never damaging the Tilma that went unharmed during the blast. There are also other miracles that are attributed to it that make it very special to the Mexican people.

There are also 4 other churches on the site. One of these is called Casa de Indianos which was built in the 1600’s and was originally Juan Diego’s home and later on became a church. The 2nd church built for Our Lady was built in the 1800’s and was built in the square at the base of the mountain directly in front of where the first church was built. The Catholic population of Mexico City has since outgrown that church and in 1976 a massive Cathedral was built to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe directly across from the old one. This newer, more modern amphitheater like Cathedral was built to accommodate the thousands of Mexicans that flock here every year. On July 1st 2002, Pope John Paul II held a mass at the Shrine and canonized Juan Diego making him a Saint in the Catholic Church and a record crowd showed up believed to be in the tens of millions, as most of Mexico shut down for days before and after the day to honor the event.

At the Shrine, we walked the beautifully manicured grounds, taking in the picturesque flower gardens and religious monuments dedicated to Saint Juan Diego and The Virgin of Guadalupe. Mexicans are very religious people, so religious in fact that even big corporations like Ford and General Motors have chapels dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe where employees pray every day before work. The Mexican population numbers around 90 million people and around 82 million of those are of the Catholic faith. Their devotion to their religion is everywhere in Mexico, from the churches to billboards, and paintings on sides of busses bear the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The Mexican people also share their devotion to the late Pope John Paul II. He is memorialized in a giant monument dedicated to his 2002 visit. Also parked alongside his monument is the Pope-Mobile used by the late Pope to travel in and around Mexico City during this visit. As I walked the grounds of the shrine with Miss Hope and Judy Molnar from Virginia, Mr. Mollenhauer gave us an extra 20 minutes to explore the grounds or go to the gift shop. I decided for the first time ever to climb the stairs to the top of Mount Tepeyac to visit the original church that was built in 1531. It was truly beautiful inside. The church is no longer used for services rather contains beautiful murals on the walls as you walk in that depict the history of how Juan Diego met the Virgin and Juan Diego presenting the Bishop with the flowers that the Virgin gave to him. It was truly an emotional experience for me being in one of the Holiest places in the world. As I exited the church I took in the views of Mexico City down below me, with the city as well as all of the steeples of the churches on the grounds of the Shrine. After descending the long staircase from the church we did a little shopping in the Shrine souvenir shop and then met the others in our group and headed for the bus.

Our next destination was the Ancient City of Teotihuacán. Teotihuacán, boasts the third largest pyramids in the world. The first building we toured was called the Quetzal Butterfly Temple or Quetzal-Papalotyl, with its sunken patio and earliest archeological evidence of a drainage system of any sort. We also were awed by the magnificent pillars carved in relief and the contrasting colors of red, pink, light and dark gray stone that were used to build the palace. beautiful carvings of Quetzals which are birds from southern Mexico are decorated with obsidian eyes, and have been preserved in the condition that the Teotihuacanos decorated them almost 3,000 years ago. Teotihuacán also boasts the third largest pyramids in the world that include the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun. These pyramids are fantastic. As you stand on the “Calle de los Muertos” or “Avenue of the Dead”, you are transformed to ancient times and what it must have been like 2000 - 3000 years ago, before the Aztecs and even Conquistador Hernan Cortes and the Spaniards who came to eventually conquer and influence the region.

The smallest of the two pyramids at Teotihuacan is the Pyramid of the Moon. At approximately 150 steps to the summit, it is believed that the top of the pyramid was used for dances and other rituals in honor of the goddess of Water associated with the moon, Chalchiuhtlicue. The Pyramid of the Moon also stands at the ceremonial head of the Calle de los Muertos. The steps of the pyramid are not to be taken lightly. Each step is practically 16 to 20 inches in rise and ascends at a rapid incline so as you descend you get the feeling you are falling forward. We were unable to ascend to the top of the Pyramid of the Moon because there is a fence installed after the first series of steps that stops at the 1st platform. My guide Marcos told me that archeologists and anthropologists are currently excavating a number of burial sites on the pyramid and the general public is not allowed past a certain point on the pyramid. He said that he has been allowed in there though and has seen some of the items that they are unearthing like ceremonial burial items, pottery and facemasks. He also said that it is unfortunate that when the Spaniards arrived here in the 1530's they ransacked and destroyed most burial sites as a way of destroying any semblance of the past while converting the natives to Catholicism.

Just down the Calle de los Muertos from the Pyramid of the Moon is the epicenter of the former great Teotihuacán civilization, the Pyramid of the Sun. This great engineering marvel rises to 70 meters and measures 222 meters from end to end, and contains 260 steps. The number of steps is symbolic since it coincides with the 260 day Teotihuacáno and Aztec sacred calendar. It was thought to be sacred because it is the average time a person is thought of as being in the womb before being born. At the same time as the sacred calendar, they also used a solar calendar of 18 months of 20 days each for a total of a 360 day cycle. As these two calendars ran they would synchronize every 52 years. It is said that this 52 year period signified a generation and at the end of that period of changing seasons, season after season, a person entering into their 52nd year of life, at the end of this 52 year cycle, was said to be recognized as a master teacher, since they have now seen an entire generation pass and another one yet to begin.

The Pyramid of the Sun was built between 400 B.C. and 900 A.D.. Although the Teotihuacános ruled

Mexico

from here for 1400 years, little to nothing is known of their disappearance. Some archeologists speculate that this once great civilization vanished when their once great culture that relied on watered areas for their maize, squash, beans, amaranth and other plants started to disappear when the ecology and environment in the region changed when the Teotihuacanos exhausted their natural resources when the cedar and pine forests were all cut down to provide wood for homes, forever altering the climate, amount of water and type of vegetation in the area. Other scientific evidence leads to the discovery of a great fire that swept through the entire city destroying the temples and all of the structures, but there is no evidence as to who set the fires; was it the Teotihuacanos themselves or invaders? Other than speculation not much else is known about the disappearance of this once great civilization, yet archeologists continue to dig here still today in hope of unearthing the great secrets of Teotihuacan.

As I began my ascent of the Pyramid of the Sun along with Miss Hope from Bergen County College, Mr. and Mrs. Vengenock from Salem County, and Mrs. Burns and Mrs. Duke from West Milford, New Jersey, the first thing that you notice is that the people on top look like ants on an anthill. As you stand at the first step, you marvel at the steepness at which the pyramid rises and the height of each step, which as you climb causes you to lift your knees to your chest as you climb. It’s amazing, the rate at which you add elevation as you climb due to the sheer steepness of the ascent, at times better than a 45 degree ascent. While climbing, from time to time I, as many others had to stop to catch our breath. As I reached the top of the Pyramid of the Sun and shared in the success of the climb with many of my traveling mates, you become overwhelmed with the greatness this once great empire must have achieved and the power Teotihuacáno leaders must have felt over their people as they ruled from so high above these great symbolic structures. We stayed atop the Pyramid of the Sun for a while giving praise to the Sun Gods

Descending the pyramid is as difficult as ascending because of the sheer steepness and the height of each step which some people have to sit on before jumping down to the next step.

What a thrill, I thought to myself, to be climbing the 3rd largest pyramid in the world. How lucky am I to be experiencing this thrill of a lifetime, and now having had the opportunity to do this 4 times? Having had taught history lessons about the Aztecs and pre-Aztec Meso-American culture I couldn’t help but think about how my teaching will forever be affected by my learning experience in the former home of this once greatest of all civilizations.

This day, our last day of touring this country of such great contrasts concluded with our visit to Mexico City’s central square also called the Zocolo, which included the Mexican National Palace which houses artist and muralist, Diego Rivera’s famous mural paintings that depict the entire history of Mexico. The National Palace is also guarded night and day by Mexican troops because it is also the home of all the seats of government, although the President of Mexico no longer resides there.

The Mexican National Palace is a building of immense proportions. It was built in 1523 and was once the official home of the Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortes, as well as numerous Viceroys (Governors) and Emperors. We were here to see the murals painted by the famous Mexican painter Diego Rivera, who painted these masterpieces between the years 1929 and 1951. The murals depict Mexico’s illustrious and colorful history from Teotihuacán through the Mexican Revolution, a period of over 2,000 years depicting the entire history and struggle of this once powerful and wonderful nation.

Also located at the central square is the Mexican Metropolitan Cathedral, one of the largest churches in the world and built in the Baroque style of the middle 1500’s. The interior of the Cathedral contains dozens of altars dedicated to many saints and the main altar, decorated in gold leaf paint is one of the largest in the world at almost 20 meters tall. Directly beside the Cathedral are the ruins of the original Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, renamed Mexico City after the Spanish Conquest of 1521. Archeologists believe that at the height of Aztec power in Mexico, Tenochtitlan had a population of over 200,000 people. Templo Mayor or the Main Temple of the Aztec City was located at the center of Aztec civilization and was where most Aztec religious rituals and ceremonies took place. Templo Mayor was built by the Aztecs around 1325, and in August 1521 Spaniards started to demolish Tenochtitlan and templo Mayor to build a new capital that is now present day Mexico City. The Spaniards even used the stones from the pyramids of Tenochtitlan to build the cathedral next door. Today, Templo Mayor and the excavated ruins of Tenochtitlan stand side by side with Mexico City as a testament to this incredible country’s long history.

Our day and our week in this beautiful country of contrasts ended with a traditional Mexican dinner complete with Mexican foods, and fellowship. At dinner we all thanked our wonderful guide Marcos Garcia for an incredible week. Marcos, as we have all affectionately come to call him is Aztec by virtue of his mother’s side of the family. Marcos spent his week passionately educating us about Mexican culture, religion, customs, history, geography until you felt as if though you were one with this wonderful country. Most of us only see the Mexico we know of in the news headlines, usually dealing with immigration, but Marcos taught us all an appreciation for and love of his country that makes me want to learn more about and yearn to come back for more. After all, Mexico is part of North America, we are only separated by political boundaries on a map, but as we in the U.S. and Canada are human, so are the beautiful people of Mexico. They are no different than us; they love their children, respect their neighbors, have an undying devotion to their religious beliefs, they have a deep respect for mother earth and all that comes from her, and Mexican and American politics and government set aside, they just want the best for their family. I have been blessed to have known Marcos for the past five years and have also had the opportunity to share my country's history with him last 2 summers when he visited Washington D.C.. It was difficult saying goodbye to so many who I became such good friends with during the trip. I know that many of us will keep in touch and we'll remain life-long friends because of our shared experiences here. It was difficult saying goodbye to my Mexican brother Marcos once again although I know that we'll hopefully see each other during the summer as he plans to once again visit the United States, and hopefully I will return to Mexico to continue to explore and learn more about his beautiful country and its long history so that I can come home and share my experiences with my students. Hopefully one day students will accompany me to share in experiences that will change their lives as they have mine. After dinner a few of us gathered back at the hotel until 2am where we reminisced about a great week, a great country and a wonderful time spent getting to know each other.

Mr. Mollenhauer took an hour to pack up our things and called it a night around 3am. At 6am we will begin our journey home with new experiences and stories to share.

Be sure to go back to check out the pictures from Tuesday. I did not take pictures of the ambulance with my camera but I used another teacher's camera and borrowed it today to download her pictures which I just posted. The teacher who broke her arm is Mrs. Dawn Boughal. I tried calling her today and left her a voice mail to see how she is doing and we have not heard from her yet. Apparently she had to undergo surgery in the U.S. to repair her arm. Talk to everyone soon.

This morning we had to pack up all of our stuff and put it on the bus because we will not be coming back here tonight. When we are done at the end of the day we will be traveling to Morelia about an hour away for lunch and then we will drive another 5 hours to Mexico City for our last day in Mexico tomorrow.

After breakfast at our hotel, we boarded the bus and headed off to the ruins of the pyramids of the ancient Purepecha empire, at Tzintzuntzan the most powerful cultural and political group in west central Mexico, that ruled Mexico until the year 1530, when Spain started their conquest of Mexico, forever putting an end to their reign. Here you find ruins of 5 pyramids in various stages of ruin. Anthropologists are now dismantling the piles of rocks that made up the crumbling pyramids and re-building them one stone at a time exactly just the way the Purepechas did over 5 centuries ago. Our very knowledgeable guide, Marcos Garcia explained that the five original pyramids actually were built as foundations for the temples that were built upon them and since gone. When the Spanish completed their conquest of the Purepechas, they started to convert the remaining Purepechas to Catholicism and the temples were torn down, and many of the pyramids were de-constructed and the stones used to build many of the buildings in the town, including schools and churches which are still there today. We visited one of those churches called, the church of Senor de Rescate (Rescue). When they were built thousands of years ago overlooking beautiful Lake Pátzcuaro, the location was not chosen for the beautiful view of the lake, and believe me it is a spectacular view of one of the largest lakes in Mexico which lies at 7,000 feet above sea level with the back drop of the Transvolcanic Range, which rises beyond the lake to over 12,000 feet above sea level. The pyramids were also built to be in alignment with the stars and therefore they developed one of the first lunar calendars using 365 days. They actually did not just pick the number 365 out of a hat, the calendar actually noted when the seasons changed, so that the Purepechas knew when to prepare mother earth for her crops, and knew when to prepare for the rainy season, and when to plant and harvest the crops. The calendar is much the same way we see it today and the Purepechas unfortunately do not get the credit in the history books.

After leaving Tzintzuntzan we shopped a little in town then boarded the bus for our drive to the beautiful city of Morelia, the capital of the State of Michoacan. Morelia is also called the "Queen of the Colonial" cities. Morelia is a very wealthy city that is home to major Universities and numerous baroque Catholic Cathedrals and many churches. Whatever religion one practices, everyone is awed by the Baroque architecture. One of the churches we visited was the Cathedral of the Lady of the Assumption which was built in the year 1510. After walking around the city and looking at the expensive shops we had to get back on the bus we once again for the longest leg of our journey,the 5 hour drive back to our final destination of Mexico City, right where we began this incredible journey just 6 short days ago. We arrived at our hotel at around 9 pm and unloaded our bags from the bus. A few of us decided to meet in the hotel restaurant for a light dinner and we talked the night away reflecting on this incredible journey and everything that we've experienced these last few days that we've spend together bonding. Just a few short days ago many of us met for the first time, but as we sit here tonight over dinner, and our journey draws to an end tomorrow, we've come to the realization that the many beautiful sights and sounds and the culture we've shared has forever bonded us, and that from this day forward we will have these memories to share of our new found friendships as well as our new Mexican friends on the island of Pacanda.

Friday night wraps up our journey. I may not have time to post because Friday is like a marathon. We'll leave our hotel around 8am for the Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, one of the holiest places to Christians and very important to Mexicans and their long colorful history. We then head to Teotihuacan to climb the 3rd largest pyramids in the world, followed by visiting the Zocolo or Central Square in downtown Mexico City. On the Zocolo we'll visit the National Palace, home to both houses of the Mexican government and their military as well as famous Diego Rivera murals depicting thousands of years of mexican history. We then briefly visit the former Aztec empire of Tenochtitlan and the National Cathedral. We wrap things up with a final dinner that runs late into the night where we'll share fellowship for the final time before returning to our hotel very late.

As for me, Miss Hope and I, and Anne Herriot and her husband Fred Immerman from Suffern New York will be leaving the hotel at 5 am on Saturday, en route to Mexico City National Airport for our 8am flight to Newark, New Jersey. We should arrive in Newark around 2pm on Saturday afternoon, and I probably won't be home until after 6pm. My next post with photos from Teotihuacan and all of Friday probably won't happen until after I get home. Until then,

Wednesday February 18, 2009 - We got in really late last night. We were at the Republica Ecuador school on the island of Pacanda in Lake Patzcuaro. It was the greatest day that I ever spent in Mexico of all 4 of my visits. The entire island came out to meet us and it was extremely moving for all of us. We really bonded with the students the teachers, and the entire community. We learned a lot about their culture and learned that kids are kids, whether they're on an island in the middle of Mexico or in northern New Jersey.

As we prepared to get on our boat in Patzcuaro for the hour long boat ride to the island of Pacanda we had a pleasant surprise in the parking lot. Maria Ortiz and her 14 year old daughter Issel were there to go with us. Mr. S visited Marias's class last year in Santa Fe de La Laguna and spent a weekend with her at the Voices workshop in the Poconos last November along with Adolfo Morales her Vice Principal who also surprised us at the hotel earlier in the morning. We were on our way to the school in Pacanda to visit Senora Teresita who also was at the Pennsylvania workshop last November.

We spent the entire day at the school in Pacanda, arriving around 10:00 am. First we visited the grade level classes that we teach. I visited the 5th and 6th grade classes who were combined because the class sizes are so small here. There are only 7 students in the entire 5th grade so sometimes they combine classes like they are doing today.

A couple of teachers went before me but I eventually presented the 6th grade class with our classroom quilt and the letters as well as pictures of our classroom and school projects. It was pretty cool to see handmade posters in both Spanish and Purepecha that showed they are learning geometry and ecosystems. Rocky had a gereat time taking pictures with all the kids. When we were done all of the American and Canadian teachers were entertained by the students who were dressed in traditional Purepecha costumes and danced and sang for us. It was truly amazing and must have taken months to prepare. After all of the performances the students were dismissed and the Pacanda teachers treated us to an afternoon of traditional Puurepecha food and drink and friendship. Today was one of the greatest days that i've ever spent in Mexico and i can't wait to go back. The teachers have even invited us back in November to participate in their traditional "Dias de los Muertos" (Days of the Dead) ceremonies so that we can gain a further understanding of the Monarch butterfly's arrival and how it relates to the souls of their departed loved ones.

After the Pacanda school we went to the island of Janitzio where the statue of Jose Morelos y Pavon is. Unfortunately because our day at Pacanda was so long we never made it to the top to see the statue because we only had a few minutes and we had to get one of the last boats off the island for the evening. After a brief stop there, we went back to the mainland, walked around a bit, buying souvenirs, Miss Hope and I visited the Basilica de la Madre de la Salud in the town of Patzcuaro, then the whole group went to dinner and when we returned it was too late to download all my pictures and to write up my events. Glad to see everyone is having a great time in school Today I have 5 hours to kill on our bus ride from Morelia to Mexico City so I'll try and write up my journal entries and down load my pictures so that when I return to Mexico City on Thursday night I could go on line and just upload my photos and daily journal entry. Talk to everyone soon.

Tuesday February 17, 2009 - This morning I woke up at 6 am, took a shower and then packed up all of my things since we will be leaving Hacienda Cantalagua today for the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary of Sierra Chincua and tonight we will be in a different hotel in Lake Patzcuaro. After I packed up I took my camera outside to take photos of this beautiful place. Maguey Cactus grow here everywhere and it is truly a beautiful place. The Hacienda was originally built in the early 1900’s in the Spanish style. It is like a walled fortress in that it is totally surrounded by a huge concrete wall. It was actually built under the dictatorship of Mexican President Porfirio Diaz who, when he was President helped the rich get richer while the poor got poorer. The Hacienda Cantalagua is not only a beautiful place but it is an important because the President of Mexico Felipe Calderon vacations here. When you walk outdoors here you’re greeted by dozens of species of song birds because of the many varieties of flowers in the beautifully manicured gardens here. There are a number of huge dining halls, an Olympic sized swimming pool that is also covered to keep out the elements and there is a church as well as a small chapel on the property so that people could come to pray. Ninety nine percent of the population of

Mexico

is Roman Catholic and are extremely faithful in practicing their religion therefore many places like the Hacienda as well as many factories have chapels so that their guests or employees could go to mass before the go to work.

This morning we headed out to the Sierra Chincua Monarch Sanctuary. Our bus ride was about 3 hours. When we got there we were told that the Monarch colonies were really far in the forests and way down deep in a valley approximately 2 and half miles by horse then another half mile or so hike on a very narrow trail. The horseback ride in was great. I don’t get to ride horses often and I look forward to doing so as well as I look forward every year to riding with my friend Marcos Garcia. We rode up last following behind sharing our thoughts about not only Monarchs but our families, friends and the awesome school year that I’m having because I have such a great group of students. After about an hour horseback ride down some very narrow steep trails with sheer drop offs we reached the end of the line for the horses. We got off the horses and then hiked in the rest of the way about another half mile until we reached the most remote and peaceful place on earth. When you’re in Chincua it is truly like living a dream, because it’s unbelievable that so many Monarchs could be spread out over such a vast area.

It was chilly today and mostly overcast so the Monarchs weren’t very active. When the sun did come out for the brief periods of time it was incredible watching how the Monarchs reacted by cascading down from the trees creating a virtual orange blizzard of Monarchs. I met a number of very interesting people in the clearing where the Monarchs were. I met 9 year old Antonio who was in the forest with his grandfather and they were patrolling the forest so that no one disturbed the Monarchs. Antonio and I hung out for a while and ate all of my life savers and then I gave him an American penny, a nickel, a dime and a quarter and he proudly ran to his grandfather to show him. I also met Diego Gonzalez who, just before I lift came down through the forest from the top of the mountain. He spoke Spanish and fluent English, because he moved to Phoenix Arizona 6 years ago and comes back to Chincua to help out in the Monarch season. He told me that he was working all day at the top of the mountain with the famous Dr. Lincoln Brower, who studies Monarchs as well as Chip Taylor from Monarch Watch, and they were filming a project at the top of the mountain. Diego also had Monarch tags that he wanted to sell so I bought 6 of them to add to the ones I bought at el Rosario yesterday. When I return to school we’ll record the tag numbers and then notify Monarch Watch to see if we can’t find the person whose tags they were. Diego and I exchanged phone numbers and I told him to call me if he was ever in New Jersey. Wouldn’t it be great if one of the tags were ours? Eventually it came time to say goodbye to the Monarchs and to Diego and his friends for another year and Marcos and I hiked back to our horses and we rode out of the sanctuary. The ride out was very tough though because it was all up hill.

When we got back we went to Dona Lola’s Cocina (Kitchen) for lunch and just as we sat down another teacher ran in saying that one of our teachers was thrown from a horse and that they were bringing her down in a pick-up truck. By the time I got to the corral, they had already brought her down and her arm looked broken just above her elbow, and Mr. Mollenhauer, Marcos and Mrs. Vengenock were there. It also turns out that the injured teacher’s friend who cam with her was a retired emergency room doctor so she splinted the broken arm. The local ejidos offered to take her to the hospital in the back of the truck but Marcos had a better idea. We all boarded the bus with the teacher who was hurt and the doctor and Marcos went down to the building that houses the federal police. They called the hospital that dispatched an ambulance from a hospital that was over 2 hours away and the ambulance met us about half way and took her to the hospital, with the doctor and Marcos since he would need to translate for her. But just when we though she was going to be ok and was at the hospital, the hospital after taking x-rays said that not only did she break her humorous but a piece of bone had splintered off and they did not have an orthopedic specialist on call to help her, so back on the bus for another 4 hour drive to Morelia the capital of Michoacan. Morelia is a huge city so we went there hoping that they could help. After an hour in the hospital the doctors determined that she would need surgery to repair the fracture. She decided that she did not want to be operated on in a foreign country so Mr. Mollenhauer re-arranged her flight so that she could be on a 6 am flight this morning out of Morelia so that she could go the hospital in New Jersey, closer to home. Because it was such a long day we didn’t get to our hotel until after 11pm, so this is why I am posting so late. The teacher’s name who was hurt is Dawn. Please keep her in your thoughts as she travels back to New Jersey today for surgery on her fractured arm.

On Wednesday we visit the school on the Island of Pacanda in Lake Patzcuaro. I can’t wait to share our letters and quilt with them. I’ll talk to everyone soon, ‘til then

Monday February 16, 2009 What an incredible day! This morning I skipped out on breakfast and made coffee in my hotel room and had a couple of donuts instead so that I could download some videos that I had taken to make some room on a couple of memory cards. At 8:30 we boarded our bus to head to the first Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, El Rosario. This is the largest Monarch Sanctuary in Mexico and according to recent Journey North data about 47% of the entire North American population migrated here this winter. Check out the pie graph below that shows the % of population in each sanctuary. Where is the 2nd largest colony of Monarchs this year?

That's right! Sierra Chincua where we are headed on Tuesday morning is home to about 31% of this winter's Monarch population. Also check out the bar graph below. Every year I come to Mexico it seems that there are less Monarchs than the year before. The data in the Journey North bar graph below does confirm a downward trend in the Monarch over wintering population but it does seem to be slightly up from last year, which is a good sign although it it did seem that there may have been less this year. This might also be in part to the fact that today was pretty chilly. At night here it falls into the 30's and this afternoon it was in the low 70's, which is still a little chilly for the Monarchs to be flying. Although we did see many Monarchs airborne, once the sun set, under the dense forest canopy it was still pretty chilly causing the Monarchs to huddle for warmth, and stopping them from flying. We did though, notice a lot of mating behavior at the top of el Rosario. The cool temps didn't stop them from mating.

Our walk up to where the Monarchs were roosting took us about an hour and a half from the base parking lot. As we hiked up the mountain we passed many of the local natives that sell t-shirts and various other souvenirs but we all waited to buy things until we were on our way down so we didn't have to take it up the mountain. As I entered the main gate and passed through the visitor center I stopped to ask a young guide by the name of Juan Jose Gonzalez where I could purchase Monarch tags that had been found in the sanctuary this year. It just so happened that he had some tags and I purchased 10 tags from him for 500 pesos or 50 pesos each. When I get home I will contact Monarch Watch and try to have the tagger notified that his or her tags had been found.

After our 90 minute hike up the mountain and across the Plains of the Rabbit high atop El Rosario we were greeted by the spectacular sight of millions of Monarchs roosting high up in the Oyamel fir trees. I have witnessed this mystery of nature on three previous occasions and have felt something deep down inside me that is very difficult to explain unless you witness this spectacle for yourself. It is truly a sight to behold. Although it is still very special for me and I now contain my emotions, however powerful, I thoroughly enjoy watching some of the new teachers on our trip to see the looks on their faces when they round that corner in the forest and look up at a virtual blizzard of monarchs. It is extremely rewarding sharing in their excitement and emotions as they, for the first time witness this miracle of nature.

We spent over an hour at the top of el Rosario taking in and photographing the clusters of Monarchs hanging heavy on the Oyamel Fir branches high above us. It is difficult to leave this place and every time I do I wonder if it will be my last time I ever see this. It's difficult to sort out the emotions of what that feels like, It's almost like saying goodbye to a loved one that you'll never see again, you want to make the best of the final moments spent together, while also trying to store those images and thoughts of the person so that they'll sustain you. The saving grace is that we get to visit Sierra Chincua tomorrow (Tuesday), and it will definitely be difficult to leave there. To fully experience the Monarchs is a very spiritual experience, and many people react in different ways, but maybe because I do have such respect for them and because I raise so many, it's almost like they are a part of my family.

After our hour up on the mountain we headed back down. It's amazing how 30 people got on a bus this morning after just having met yesterday but now here we are talking like we've been lifelong friends, because we shared in something that is very special to all of us, and that we could all relate to on the same level. After exiting the Oyamel forest we worked our way down the path, stopping at the many souvenir shops along the way buying Monarch souvenirs and t-shirts. The people here are so nice. They really live the motto "Treat others the way that you want to be treated". After picking up some souvenirs we stopped to eat and I had 3 pollo con queso quesadillas (chicken and cheese), and my favorite drink in the sanctuaries Boing jugo de uva (grape juice).

After boarding the bus we all shared our thoughts of our day and then talked about averything under the sun, from our favorite book to read with our students to our families. We arrived at our hotel around 7:15 and cleaned up for dinner at 8:00pm. I'm already thinking about our day in Sierra Chincua tomorrow. They say that the Monarchs in Chincua are very high up on the mountain, at least a 2 plus mile trek by horseback. Can't wait.

I hope this message finds everyone at home doing well. I apologize for not having posted until now but a number of circumstances prevented me from doing so. The first one being that the night before I left for Mexico I stayed up all night, then when we arrived in Mexico we dropped everything and went to the Museum of Anthropology and then to a late dinner. After dinner I attempted to get internet access in the hotel but had nothing but problems connecting. After many hours I found myself falling asleep downstairs in the restaurant at 2 am still trying to connect. They told us that there was a wireless connection in our room so I went upstairs and tried again and still had problems so I gave up around 3 am because I really needed to rest.

Anyway I left New Jersey on a Continental flight out of Newark, New Jersey at 8 am Saturday with Miss Hope from Bergen County College, and we landed in Mexico City around 2 pm Mexico time. Mexico is only one hour behind New Jersey time. When we departed the plane we waited for other teachers on the plan before going downstairs to the baggage claim area. I wore my Monarch shirt so I was easy to spot. A total of 15 of us were on the flight from New Jersey as well as Canada. After getting our luggage and clearing Mexican Customs we exchange our American money for Mexican Money, and we hired 2 large vans to take us to the Galleria Plaza Hotel in the Zona Rosa section of Mexico City.

Mexico City is the largest city in the world and is home to over 90 million people. For that reason it is also one of the most polluted cities in the world. It also sits at approximately 8,000 feet above sea level so this makes the air lighter so that it takes some time to get used to being at this elevation.

Upon arriving at the hotel we dropped our bags and met up with other teachers that flew in from Manitoba and Ontario Canada, Iowa, Illinois and all over the U.S.. After checking in and getting our rooms we met up with Mr. Mollenhauer. It's going to be a pretty cool week in that he's going to be my room mate for the week. Anyway, once again, we hired 2 vans and headed over to the Museum of Anthropology where we toured the Teotihuacan exhibit, the Aztec Exhibit and the Olmec and Mayan exhibits. As I once again stood next to the Aztec Calendar Stone I learned even more things about it like the fact that during French occupation in the 1800's the French soldiers used the face of Tonatiuh for target practice. The coolest thing was probably standing next to the giant Olmec heads from the Olmec civilization that predated the Aztecs by about 4,000 years. I now want to learn more about the Olmecs. Anthropologists are now coming up with new theories that the Olmecs weren't natives at all but came here some how from Africa, because the giant Olmec heads have African features.

After the museum we went back to our hotel for a group dinner and to try and get to know each other since we'll be spending the next week together.