Wednesday, July 05, 2006
On Sunday we wanted to take a break from Queretaro, and friends suggested Taquisquiapan as an interesting town, about an hour away by bus. The first task, of course, was to master how to say Taquisquiapan when talking to people from there, who naturally are called Taquis.
T..pan really was lovely. We found beautiful and inexpensive hand-made furniture, rattan, and baskets in a market outside of the town. The town center was quite beautiful and interesting, with lots of tourist-oriented shops. The kinds of things we saw in the market outside town were on sale here at considerably higher prices, along with lots and lots of suivenir kinds of things. Beyond the center was an area of incredibly large, beautiful, expensive homes with things like swimming pools. Still, there was very little English being spoken.
It all felt unreal, this town in the middle of nowhere. We tried to talk to some people about what the economic base was for T..pan. They told us that it was based on exporting baskets and furniture. But as we left town, the kiosk at the bus stop had a sign informing the local residents that they should be friendly to foreigners because 8 OF EVERY 10 PESOS IN T..PAN WAS A RESULT OF THE TOURIST INDUSTRY. It brought home to us that we have been inside a bubble, here in Mexico. We have experienced only safe, beautiful, upscale, welcoming communities. The huge fraction of poor and unemployed Mexicans and their problems are simply not seen in these locations.
I`d been working hard to find a position teaching chemistry or English. Landed an interview with the JFK American School. Very upscale, a prep school for Mexican kids headed to US universities. The woman I talked to was all efficiency, without a drop of humor. They wanted me to come back to teach a demonstration class in chemistry. I asked if I could borrow a textbook to prepare, and was informed that they don't use textbooks, their teachers are expected to do their own preparation. OK. But they haven't gotten back to me as promised, and she hasn't been reachable. I guess that is her form of a brush-off. So it goes.
But then I also talked with the very impressive director of what appears to be the best English Language school here. They will be glad to hire me, but don´t pay very much. The ambiance there is great, though. Hmmmmmmmmm.
T..pan really was lovely. We found beautiful and inexpensive hand-made furniture, rattan, and baskets in a market outside of the town. The town center was quite beautiful and interesting, with lots of tourist-oriented shops. The kinds of things we saw in the market outside town were on sale here at considerably higher prices, along with lots and lots of suivenir kinds of things. Beyond the center was an area of incredibly large, beautiful, expensive homes with things like swimming pools. Still, there was very little English being spoken.
It all felt unreal, this town in the middle of nowhere. We tried to talk to some people about what the economic base was for T..pan. They told us that it was based on exporting baskets and furniture. But as we left town, the kiosk at the bus stop had a sign informing the local residents that they should be friendly to foreigners because 8 OF EVERY 10 PESOS IN T..PAN WAS A RESULT OF THE TOURIST INDUSTRY. It brought home to us that we have been inside a bubble, here in Mexico. We have experienced only safe, beautiful, upscale, welcoming communities. The huge fraction of poor and unemployed Mexicans and their problems are simply not seen in these locations.
I`d been working hard to find a position teaching chemistry or English. Landed an interview with the JFK American School. Very upscale, a prep school for Mexican kids headed to US universities. The woman I talked to was all efficiency, without a drop of humor. They wanted me to come back to teach a demonstration class in chemistry. I asked if I could borrow a textbook to prepare, and was informed that they don't use textbooks, their teachers are expected to do their own preparation. OK. But they haven't gotten back to me as promised, and she hasn't been reachable. I guess that is her form of a brush-off. So it goes.
But then I also talked with the very impressive director of what appears to be the best English Language school here. They will be glad to hire me, but don´t pay very much. The ambiance there is great, though. Hmmmmmmmmm.
