Mammillaria hahniana

i did it! i enrolled in a french tour of the greenhouses (the info point clerk didn't speak any english btw... and asked if i was anglaise. :D) at nantes, jardin des plantes and found out which genus 

and species my cactus at home belongs to.

may i present you the humble mammillaria hahniana (old lady cactus???).

(the lowest plants have the same coloring of the needles, white dipped into brown. a major point why i was never sure of the classification when looking at other people's photos.)

the tour was btw for free. as i didn't understand much of it i had more time inspecting the plants and could have taken more photos if i wasn't so intensely trying to find the right species. anyway we only visited the cacti and succulents house plus the rainforest house (no pictures there, intermittent "rain" ensured that). the rainforest greenhouse was awesome inside but it looked very sick from outside - all glasses were brown and muddy. apparently it was from some bacteria 

which was growing on some leaves as well or maybe algae that was good for the plants.

too bad we were there too early for la folie des plantes -

plant fever in nantes 

(and that the airplant shop was en vacances)

my happy cactus :)

(though still not that happy - not yet flowering after a year and two summers...)

äitisuomennos: kaktuksen lajike tiedossa!

kaktukset.blogspot.fi: mammillaria hahniana

Nutriologa accreditada

welcome graduation and good bye zen, statistics and thesis ( & blog)! :)

äitisuommennos: heippa gradu ja blogi! ei tuu ikävä! ;)

good bye to madrid too! we wish it would have lastet longer. :)

De Guadalajara!

(embedding disabled by request - damn!)

mana - labios compartidos

got tired of keeping the tab always open...
decided it's more convenient to open my blog when i need to hear it. :)



äitisuomennos: ah ja voih, meksikolaista tuskaa...

The day of the dead

los muertos...

los muertos se levanten y participen a los actividades de los días pasados.

los muertos...

los muertos...

äitisuomennos: kuolleiden juhla

Ode to my beloved Tapatía

snif. not the pics (i know they're crappy - everybody who has been here can confirm that) but the song!

äitisuomennos: niisk.

Ballet Folklorico

Una noche escuchando Lila Downs...

äitisuomennos: Lila Downs!!! :)

Heli - Storm in Mexico

as it turned out that i have found more joy out of posting weird notions and pics instead of writing a public diary, i thought you might be interested in reading a more complete version of what it is truly like to be living in here.

i added to my blog list a blog from heli, my friend, who is an exchange student from finland as well. she has really nicely put down all the things i'm missing - except that she is a different person and can only write from her point of view.
(i've been mentioned as 'that finnish katja' at least in couple of posts from last november.)

the blog however is in finnish - better luck next time... ;)


äitisuomennos: helin blogi kertoo itte asiassa asioista meksikossa just niin, ko mie aattelin ensin kirjottaa, ennen ko päätin mennä sieltä, mistä aita on matalin. nauttikaa! (mie esiinnyn ainaki parissa postissa viime marraskuulta.)

Mexican architecture

something old...






 
something new...






something borrowed...






something blue...




(ancient mayan art in oaxaca - sorry george lucas but the historians always knew about darth vader...)

(Something old, something new Something borrowed, something blue And a silver sixpence in her shoe.)  http://ask.yahoo.com/20031027.

html



äitisuomennos: jaaha, ja darth vaderkin on siis plagiaatti...

Museo Nacional de la Muerte en Aguascalientes

so where do all these skeleton figures come from???


from indigenous art and believes ofcourse!!!






from christian tradition as well...

(the second picture is an old miniature glass bottle which one had to look at through magnifying glass. - i suppose you've already guessed which picture is not part of the christian tradition... ;)






and finally we meet these fine ladies...

la catrina - coqueta - is a very typical and beloved figure dating all the way back until 1913. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catrina)

i suppose now you all understand the beloved skeletons of mexico - the humour and the respect of the dead... to me it seems like a very beautiful tradition: teaching the children not to be afraid... building día de los muertos altars for the died loved ones...


äitisuomennos: kuolemamuseo aguascalientesissa - meksikolainen traditio = sekoitus intiaanien ja espanjalaisten valloittajien uskontoa (kuoleman kunnioitus ja huumori, rakastettu luurankohahmo)

Hello Kitty!

äitisuomennos: ja taas luurankoja...

With love to Milka

i surprised taking bath...










i with natural light...



well, you can blame my cousin for these pics: she wanted to know how i'm looking these days(if my hair has grown back;). as you can see i'm very healthy, tanned nicely and there's absolutely nothing wrong with my hair!!! :P


äitisuomennos: milkan syytä kaikki! se halusi tietää, miltä mie näytän nykyään... hah! kuten näette: olen aivan terve, ruskettunut ja tukkaakin löytyy!!! :P

Who's there?

äitisuomennos: kuka siellä...










 

 
...yläpetillä oikein makkaa???

WARNING!

in mexico it's forbidden to put a plastic bag over one's head. - i just wonder how large fine one can get from breaking this prohibition... hm... maybe i should ask about it from my spanish teacher???


äitisuomennos: ällös laita muovipussia pääs päälle meksikossa tai saat katua! :P

Little princesses...

and as you see the age doesn't matter: everybody can be a princess!


äitisuomennos: pikkuprinsessojakaan unohtamatta...

About finding one's DRESStiny...

also other women become happy on this miracle street even if they are not getting married in the near future... ;)

... i was trying to imagine how my blog could suddenly create a new tourism flow to the good old gdl...

this could be the respond for the new challenges of THE DRESS tourism:
change your life! find THE DRESS! we're inviting all of you to find your inner princess! in guadalajara it's possible! realize your dreams today and fly to guadalajara! your destiny is waiting for you... full satisfaction guaranteed!


äitisuomennos: - ääiiiiiiitiiii! määki halluuuuun tommosen!

Love and marridge

one of the most important days in mexican girl's life is her wedding day.
then the daddy's little princess can dazzle the whole world with a huge cream cake dream and finally be the queen of the day before settling down as a married and respectable 'ama de casa'.

wedding, as in all catholic countries, is a big business here (except among the poor who don't get married;) and is to be taken very seriously. the grand day just have to be perfect. it's not uncommon to see a couple riding in a limo and waving to the other mortals like the royal family of england.

however as we all know the bride is the one in the spotlight accompanied first by her father and later by her new husband and so she has to spend enormous amount of time and great consideration before deciding her entrée with THE DRESS. for this reason one whole walking street of guadalajara is almost fully dedicated just to the happy brides(much neglecting the poor fiancés offering only few choices for them) and to the big wallets of their not so happy fathers. these creations cost about 3000 pesos which means with the current rate less than 200 euros!

maybe the finnish brides should come here instead of heading to tallin for a less costly market? (can't believe i just invented new wedding dress tourism!;)


äitisuomennos: purjehtiminen avioliiton auvoiseen satamaan ei ole meksikossa helppoa. täydelliseen hääpäivään tarvitaan uhkea hääpuku, limusiini, isän paksu lompakko ja tietenkin sulhanen(mieluiten myöntyväinen - sulhasen kaappaus kun on nykypäivänä eettisesti erittäin tuomittavaa ja sitä paitsi ruokkii mustan pörssin kauppaa).


NOTE/OJO/HUOMIO! this post is dedicated to the two couples i know who got married last summer but to whose wedding i was unfortunately unable to attend. wish you all the best even when you didn't have mexican wedding dresses. ;) ... maybe i should buy mine as well from here? ;) i-iskää!!!

Risahan son! :)

only finnish people who understand my dad's dialect are able to understand this. :D (and the spanish who understand the real meaning of the word sonrisa)


äitisuomennos: paikallinen tuoremehubrändi. ;D

ok, ok...

sonrisa= hymy= smile
risa= rikki= broken
son= se on= it is

- haa haa, veeri fani. :P - isn it? i'm so proud of it myself as well. :)

And a Happy New Year!!!

thanks again to my friend who took these wonderful photos on new years eve in the heart of guadalajara.


äitisuomennos: annin kuvia vieläkin uuden vuoden yönä.

Merry Christmas 2008!

instead of sending christmas cards this year, i'm sharing this panorama from puerto vallarta that my friend took on christmas day (i'm not too late!!! christmas is over only on 6th jan. - at least in finland;).

i also want to thank everybody who remembered this finnish girl far far away from home. :)


äitisuomennos: onpa hyvä, että tässä näppiksessä on ää:t ja öö:t kohillaan!!! kiitokset koneesta: kaikilla ei olekaan mahdollisuuta saada loppuja lahjoja vasta toukokuussa. ;) anni otti kuvan vallartasta joulupäivänä.