Books

FYI - My experience with guidebooks - so far. I purchased Lonely Planet's Guide to Central America on a Shoestring and DK's Top 10 Mexico City first.

Guidebooks:
DK guide is great with a pull out map. It is small and highlights 10 of the top things to do in Mexico City. Actually, I wasn't really planning on staying in Mexico City past doing the research at the university, but after I bought this guidebook, I decided to allot 4 or 5 days for sight-seeing. I know there are people worried about Mexico City, but it can't be any worse than Detroit or Chicago or Florence. Our per capita crime rate in this town is the same ratio as New York City. Nice huh? So back to the book, DK explains to the public transit system and has more suggestions than just the top 10 (like a great list of a range of hotels) . I like it. I'll use it. It was $12.

Lonely Planet - So this is supposed to be the best for those on a budget. And there's a lot of info, however, in my experience so far, there is not much specific info on transportation, specifically buses or planes. It says (along with the rest of them) that the bus system is the way to go in Mexico and Central America, but it doesn't say which bus line or how much, etc. Maybe it's because they go in and out of business. It just tells you that there are lots of buses and to use the executive class or the 2nd class ones because they are cheap and more comfortable. The book is large and I won't be able to take it with me, but probably will take copies of specific pages, especially about Belize. It provides a lot of useful general information and was a good investment, especially since, if the summer all turns out well, I will want to explore other Central American countries. It lists for $25.

I just recently purchased The People's Guide to Mexico by Carl Franz and Lorena Havens and LOVE IT! It provides a lot more specific information and suggestions. Plus they have a website and I actually have been conversing with one of the authors via email. He has been traveling in Mexico since the 60s and actually saw some carpas. And it's funny and I always appreciate humor. It seems to me to be a guide for regular people with answers to questions that regular people might want to ask. It's big too and I won't be able to pack it, but will carry copies of some info with me. Lists for $25.

These books provided good information. The most up to date information, however, is found on travel blogs and the web. There you can find the names of bus companies, small airlines, etc. I am glad I purchased the books, but next post or so, I'll talk about the websites I've visited. See the sidebar to your right for links to published sources that I will update. Adios for now!

¡hola amigos y amigas!

OK, enough of de Español. So here I am with a brand new blog to chronicle my journey from South Carolina to Mexico. I received a research stipend for the summer to study Mexican tent shows (carpas Mexicanas) in south Texas and Mexico. I plan to write a book on Toby shows with a chapter on carpas and the Pellado character because I find they have a direct relationship to Toby shows. As well, there is little formal scholarship about them.

Maybe I'm finally having a mid-life (it hurt to type that) crisis, but I have never really been out of the country for any length of time. I'm tired of waiting for someone to travel with, so I just decided to go on my own. You know me, I love a challenge. So, Mexico, in the summer, as an Español beginner should be pretty fun. Plus I'm trying to do this conservatively, financially speaking.

I probably should have started this blog earlier because the research for the trip has been really interesting and difficult. I started taking Spanish lessons in the fall in hopes that the research award would follow. It did! The Spanish class experience has been really interesting. I took 3 years of college French and was never able to really converse, though I can read a little and understand a little. As I was practicing Spanish though, my French would come back unexpectedly. My conversational Spanish class ended in December, but I have been using the Rosetta Stone a little and Pimsleur's tapes a lot, and they have really helped. I believe I can speak more Spanish now than I every could French. Maybe that's because I want to?

My plans are to fly to Texas from Missouri around June 17 and visit: Texas A&M, Austin, and San Antonio. I will then fly into Mexico City about June 29 to do research at the library at the university in Mexico City. I have been corresponding with them through an interpreter. I also really want to visit several art museums, sites, etc. while I'm there. Then I will head to Belize around July 6 to lay on the beach for a week (I hope). That's the plan...

Finding information has been interesting...so until I leave, for those interested, I will include you on this journey of finding out what I'm doing and when and how. Then, even the smallest town that I plan to visit, Hopkins, Belize has 2 internet cafes. You get to see the whole thing...well, maybe not the whole thing....