My adjust to the city thusfar has been very smooth yet exciting. Today I went to my friends house for lunch to meet her parents. They are both anthropologists who practice in fields that I find most exciting. The mother works more in ethnography studied different tribes within the region and writes books about her studies. The father writes more journalistically and practices photography for documentation and exhibitions. Their house was absolutely amazing. Most of the rooms were divided into different houses spread amongst a pebbled garden complete with a wishing well. I made friends with one of their cats... "the one that hates people." Yeah, thats what my host family said about Blacky, our cat. And look whose snuggle buddies with me now (sorry Weston).

Right now I'm at an internet cafe with a couple of my friends. Its kind of one of those places you stumble upon with low lighting Mexican yuppies spread around, all laughing over their computers and beer.

There are constantly so many beautiful things I see and experience and make mental notes to come back and write about in this. But alas, as many have already figured out my mental notebook is extremely unreliable. Lo siento.

I absolutely love my classes. My spanish class is way too slow paced due to us catering towards the slowest student in the class. My history class is phenomenal, and my anthropology class, which we just had our first class is great. It is about working with "underprivaliged" communities and how to improve them, how they get to be that way, etc. Myself and another student will be recruiting people to join a computer class that we will teach. I'm really excited to do this, I will be able to construct the program however I would like. We are going to go to a food bank as well as go door to door to recruit.

A woman joined our spanish class yesterday who has been living in Merida for about 2 years. She took a cruise here many years ago, fell in love with the area and her and her husband bought a house. After their divorce he got the house in America and she got the house in Mexico. Sounds she got the high end of the bargain, eh?

Last night I saw a man on the side of the road who stood in front of a giant van that had his face painted on it. He looked so serious in his jeweled stunna shades.

If there were to be only one thing I could blog about during this trip it would be the man in a thong that stood on the roof of a truck with an elephant in its bed that I saw today.

My fellow observers and I simply blinked once and went back to sipping our coffee.

This post is dedicated to Brittany and Matt who have not only take in Professor Bananas, brought him back to health, but also... **drumroll please** TRAINED HIM TO STOP MEOWING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! Round of applause!!! That's right... I typed it.


I found my spot. Well two actually. There is a big park in front of a church by my house that will be great for writing as soon as the weather warms up. But I am currently sitting inside a coffee shop that I have absolutely fell in love with. The interior is all red and black and the only lighting comes from the light that pours through the glass walls. The music they play is a combination between BitterSweet and Hooverphonic... but slightly more jazzy. Okay well that was just for that song... ever since they have been playing Frank Sinatra.

The coffee in Mexico is extremely smooth and the mint cappucino I am currently drinking is beyond words to describe.

Tonight we will be going to our first disco. I'm very excited but a bit nervous because I know my moves are nothing to compare to those of hispanics... or any race for that matter. Something good about my location is at night the tables turn in terms of long commutes. Now the students have to come to my neck of the woods where all of the discos are located!

Last night we went to an all you can eat and drink restaurant for only 115 pesos (approx 8 USD). My favorite place thusfar (I say this like I have gone everywhere... DISCLAIMER: I have only been to two bars thusfar) was a Mayan pub. With its dimly lit backyard seating and stray kitten scrounging about for food I felt exactly like I was in a movie.

**Sidenote I just killed a mosquito in midair and it has a butt like a bumble bee but red. Just thought everyone may want to know.

The other day a couple of amigos and I went to grab lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Here they served tacos with meat parts such as tongue, ear, hoof, brain, etc. The two girls we were with were unforutunately not having it so we had to go someplace else. But me and the rest plan to get back ASAP. Kevin said his mother makes grasshopper tacos all of the time and will have me over for dinner next time she makes them. Can't wait! This is going to be just like that scene in Lion King where Simba meets Timon and Pumba and trys the bugs. Hopefully! In my eyes so long as it is edible it is okay to eat. And this is the whole point in traveling isn't it? To try new things, send your senses on new adventures? What doesn't kill me will only make me stronger...

We visited the location where we will be doing our community service last night. It is in a very poor part of Merida where they are rebuilding a building for the community. I have a choice to either teach adults how to use computers or coach a kids soccer team. I am praying I get to do the later!

Some interesting facts:

There is no formal bus system. You wave a bus as if you were a taxi and simply stand up when you want to get off. Some buses are actually vans whose doors swing open and you jump inside and jump out when you get off looking exactly like that of a kidnapping scene. These vans also have no formal route and simply go to the direction they are marked with (example towards the center of town). Needless to say every one of us has been lost for many hours at some point or another, including myself. Mom and Dad--- BLINDFOLDS: It was really fun the other day when I was stranded in a factory part of town without a cellphone.

It is not the tourist season. I have only seen one other white person that was not affiliated with DePaul. They were a couple of students on the bus. Also, barely anyone speaks english here. I suspected some would... but almost nobody does. That being said, my spanish has improved dramatically, but don't expect me to be able to freestyle en espanol anytime soon. In 1 or two weeks my history class will switch over to spanish. Wish me luck.....

Hope everyone is having a great winter:) Time to take my fiesta...

PS. Sorry for all of my typos... I have a new netbook which I am still having trouble getting used to.

As I walked from the internet cafe I walked past an artisan on the side of the road chiseling away at a stone making a Mayan statue and a wild dog helped me cross the street. In Mexico cars have the right of way making if very hard and dangerous to cross the street.

There is a giant bug in my room. BIG! This bug is the sumo wrester or bugs, the creecher that lurks underneat your bed, the bug that gives bugs a bad rap. I'm freaking out. And this is coming from a girl who almost ate tongue yesterday and has plans to eat grasshopper tacos this week. Trying to make peace with the bug to coexist in a peaceful, zen bedroom.

Sorry... how lame is the title? Hola amigos! Today is Monday, January 4th, 2010. I have been in Merida for about three days now, including when I arrived late Saturday night. So far I absolutely love it. It is no wonder why Merida has become such a popular spot for people to retreat and settle down. Aside from the food being some of the best food I have ever had (next to Mom's home cookin'), the city breathes a unique compusure of traditional and contemporary ways of life.


Yesterday we had a very good meal of chicken that had been cooked in plantain skins and an appetizer that still remains a mystery as to what it was- but it was very good. Later on in the noche we met our host families... everyone, including myself, is very pleased with who they have. Although one girl who is living with two anthropologists that are also professional photographers doesnt seem to appreciate what they do... but anyways.

My family is exactly what I was hoping for. On my form that created our profile for the host families to decide upon us I had circled "NO PREFERENCE" when asked if I wanted to live with animals. BUt then I had made an arrow towards "would like to be" and told them I would prefer it. all of yesterday, before I met my family I was regretting not having just circled yes. But the family I was assigned with is exactly what I hoped. THey have two kids, one girl named Regina (kick it Weston... it's pronounced Ray-hena) who is 9 and Roberto who is 13. Her praents also live with her. And then they have 3 dogs including 1 puppy and 2 Chiwawas (pretty cliche) and 1 cat who I have become very close with. All of the mothers we have been assigned to live wtih are either divorces or widows.

The house is on the very very north outskirts of Merida and therefore is in a very nice neighborhood. So it has its pros and cons. The pros being that it is a ncie house, I have my own room, and there will be internet as of next week. THe cons are that there isn't much to do around the neighborhood, I don't live near any but one of the other students and I am pretty far from downtown and school. I have to take two different buses to get to school and have to leave a little over an hour. There are no bus deals or cards in Merida, so everytime I get on the bus I have to pay which is going to add up. I don't have a phone which makes it pretty hard to see the other students, especially given me living about 45 minutes away. But there is one student who lives within a 5 minutes walk. He is the other anthropology student. We both have been trying to figure out if there was a reason the two anthropology students live on the outskirts.Hmm.. Yo no se. But of all of the people to live near I am happy it is another anthropology student. ANthropology students are always my favorite kind of people... next to drummers of course. Our experience is definitely going to be much different than the other students being so far away. We are going to have a different view of Merida that is subject to the Meridan citizen that does not live immedietly in the city. We are going to learn to be more capable of traveling around the city. My mama works so I especially am more on my own than most students. I like this very much. It is amazing how accurately they assigned each student to the family.

Oh! Everyone drives buggies. It's pretty cute. Most people drive the old 60s buggies but my fmaily has one from the 60s as well as the 00's.

Cinderella's glass slipper, Jasmine's magic carpet ride and Ariel's first steps on land were the Walt Disney princess stories that captured many young girls' hearts over ten years ago. Of the nine Disney princesses, there has never been an African-American princess-until now. On Dec. 11, Disney will introduce in theaters nationwide, their first African-American princess in "The Princess and the Frog." 

"This is very liberating for black women and also just women in general," said the liason of DePaul's Black Student Union, Demetrius Upchurch, who graduated last year. "This is definitely a step forward in terms of how young girls of African descent look at themselves."

The fairytale's prince is Caucasian, voiced by Brazilian actor Bruno Campos. 

"Disney wants to sell this movie," said Upchurch who said he believes the princess and prince are a biracial couple for marketing reasons. "Disney was probably thinking it might be too much to have a black princess and a black prince because it could then be seen as a cartoon for black people and alienate the movie to a narrowed audience," said Upchurch.

"I think it's positive to have a biracial couple. Now let's see if they end up together in the end of the movie," said Barbara Speicher, an associate professor of communications at DePaul. "That seems to be a theme with biracial couples in animated films; something comes up in the end and they break-up. 

Disney said Princess Tiana, who is voiced by Anika Noni Rose, is based on the values of self-confidence and independence and "is always ready to roll up her sleeves and do the hard work that will help inspire her community."

"Maybe Disney has finally done something right for a change," said Selma Jackson, a McKinley Park resident and mother of two. "If the princess does in fact have a more independent and stronger character than the princesses in the past, this might finally be a Disney movie I am not hesitant to take my daughters to see."

But even if it seems as though Disney is making a move in the right direction, viewers should still be prepared for the possibility of disappointment.

"Animated princesses of color tend to be more sexualized, more voluptuous and reinforce many racial stereotypes," said Speicher. While Speicher said she believes it is positive to have an African-American princess, she will be looking out for these racial stereotypes. 

"If Princess Tiana is more mature and womanly which leads her to being more sexually active, then that is playing to what other Disney movies have done in the past," said Speicher. "If that is the case then the movie is probably going to be leaving the same impressions on children that previous ones have left."


The movie has received some criticism for being stereotypical to African-Americans due to characteristics such as Princess Tiana's dialect, wide-hips and wig. The movie also features a Voodoo priestess fairy godmother.

"The Voodoo is a part of black culture," said Upchurch. "I think some people have this idealistic way of how they want to be represented. But there are different ways. We have different facial features, and I think it would be unfair to represent any person in a certain way."

"There is a lack of diversity of the way people of color are portrayed. The more diversity there is, people become less prone to stereotyping," said Upchurch. 

There needs to be more diverse images of black people so that people won't become angry at the particular ways they are represented.

The movie was originally supposed to feature Maddy, a black chambermaid working for a spoilt, white Southern debutante. The original storyboard was believed to have been torn up after criticism that Maddy's character was a subservient role with echoes of slavery. The film was originally titled, "The Frog Princess," but changed when some interpreted it as a slur.

This is not the first time Disney's multicultural movies have been met with racial skepticism. In 1993, Disney's Aladdin was protested from Muslims who said the film depicted the Middle East as barbaric. The opening song, "Arabian Nights," sang, "I come from a land, from a faraway place, where the caravan camels roam, where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face; it's barbaric, but hey, it's home."

Princess Tiana will be the forth Disney princess of color, joining Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan. 

Disney began grouping the Disney princesses together in 2000. The Disney princess franchise has grown from $300 million in global retail sales at the time of launch and is projected to reach the $5 billion mark by Disney Consumer Products. 

While the traditional "Princess and the Frog" fairy tale took place in a country with a monarchy, Disney changed the tale's setting to the French Quarter of New Orleans. 

"I think that it is perfectly acceptable to change a story's setting, especially a fairy tale so that children are more easily able to relate to the main characters," said Jackson.

The "Princess and the Frog" is returning to the traditional 2-D, hand drawn style of animation that was once used to illustrate the former Disney princesses. 

"Assuming Disney has learned from its mistakes, our children are finally going to have a princess worth idolizing," said Jackson. "If the princess is confident and if she is independent, then I think we, as women of color, may finally have some positive role models for our girls."