36 hours in SMA

I thought both of these articles gave a pretty apt rundown of musts while in SMA.  If you ever decide to come down, check them out to get you started.

36 hours in SMA

Weekend in SMA

Weird

I've spent my sabbatical more excited fantasizing about future plans than speaking and learning Spanish.
But at least I have been speaking and learning Spanish, and taking all sorts of cooking classes to boot!!

It would seem that the dwindling interest has led to the dwindling posts. . . at least there are photos over at flickr!

Second to last Sunday. . .

Been having a blast with Dad, but I'll tell you a little secret: I'm ready to come home.

Three weeks would've been perfect I think - five was definitely too many.

Don't ask about my test, I didn't take it last week - wish me luck for tomorrow instead!

Gabe is coming to teach us how to make enchiladas soon (even though I already make a pretty damn good enchilada if I do say so myself).

Wish me luck. . .

I have a test tomorrow!
We finished the first book today, so I have a test tomorrow, and then we'll work on the next book after that.  I think it's going to take me at least a week to figure out this whole "le turns into se when followed by lo because we can't say le lo, that's just silly, and if there is a reflexive verb or a reflexive verb with an infinitive, then you add the le and the indirect object to the end of the infinitive but not if there is a con or a de. . . . . " so it's just as well.
Good lord.  Let's be honest, I hardly understand the concept of indirect objects and reflexive infinitive verbs in English.  Half the time I'm like, "the what?"  It doesn't help that this is all in Spanish.

In other news, atole!

In other other news, my dad should be here in about 2 hours!!!!

More learnings. . .

When one arrives to school in the morning, if one is eating, say, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich they made the day before and have been carrying around in their bag ever since that is all smooshed and misshapen, and sits down with a group of Mexicans, it is rude not to offer some.  They'll say no (no one wants a bite of your half eaten mangled sandwich, which you probably already knew which is why you didn't offer it), but it's rude.  I DID NOT KNOW and then I felt like an ass when my teacher told me they were all exchanging looks.  * sigh *
Now I know.  And now you know.  And that's half the battle.

The B&B dream?  Seriously going to take a village. . . if you're interested in partnerships and you're a quiet, easy going multi-millionaire, or you happen to have a large plot of land in say, the Alexander Valley, please contact me.  But, if when it comes to fruition, it is going to be FREAKING AWESOME.

Oh, the things I'm learning. . .

I'm excited to say that more often than not these days, when I think of something I want to say, and double check it with google translate - I'm right.  If only I could be that quick when speaking!  Some of these concepts are still kicking my ass - today was pretty tough.  But, we're almost done with the first book, and will hopefully start book three by Thursday (since book two is just review of book one).  I am no longer sad that I am in the beginner's class, because even though I am quite confident I could hold my own with the other conversation group, being a beginner means I'm still getting my own private 1:1 instruction for the price of group instruction.  And I certainly won't say no to that.  Although; let's be honest - there is only so much for my teacher and I to talk about every day for two hours.  Especially when my grammar class is also filled with at least an hour of chit chat since I was burning through the book too quickly (that's my guess anyway; that and the fact that I really do need the most practice in speaking).  Perhaps conversation with more people would actually be beneficial. . . . and to that end, some nice young guy walked up next to me on the street today and started chatting with me.  Turns out he went to high school in Michigan of all places, and his English is quite good.  Another person for me to practice with!  We exchanged email addresses, though perhaps when he finds out how very old I am (since I'm guessing he's quite young) he doesn't head for the hills!  He made some comment about wanting people his age to speak English with, versus some of the older people he knows. .  .
I am also a bit chest puffed that I get complimented on my accent quite frequently (see aforementioned young man and my teachers), since I'm typically quite shy about speaking because I think I'm pronouncing things wrong.  Everyone wants to know why I don't sound norteamericana when I speak.  I say it's because my grandfather was from Chihuahua (is that where he's from?!  Dad?  Mom?!)  I thought I remembered that from a family tree thing, but who knows if I'm right, he's from somewhere down here. . . in any case, I'm more comfortable saying that rather than, "Um, I don't know.  My parents listened to a lot of Linda Ronstadt when I was growing up?"  Maybe it was just growing up in California?  Who knows.
I'm learning plenty of Mexican culture as well (see other posts) and today I learned to play the card game Conquian!  I'm addicted already, so be prepared for Conquian and tequila nights (per Blanca's suggestion).
And the cooking!!!  Oh, the cooking.  If you like to cook I'm hoping you're keeping tabs on my other blog because every time I learn something I post it there.  (stay tuned for the chiles rellenos recipe from today)
So far milanesas (breaded cutlets of meat), arroz verde (but that is easily translated into arroz blanco, arroz amarillo, y arroz rojo), salsa verde, salsa de aguacates, chiles rellenos, and this Sunday, Dad and I will learn to make enchiladas from a new friend down here that is starting up his own "learn to cook authentic Mexican dishes in your own home" type business.  Don't worry girls, I'll try to bring him to SF some day.  ;)

More things I've learned

Spaghetti - here you cook up your spaghetti all regular like, but while it's cooking, you fry up your tomatoes, onions and garlic; then when the spaghetti is ready you mix it all together, dump it in a baking dish, add crema or queso if you so desire, and then bake it.  Spag bol it is not.
home tour

Skeeter Syndrome
 
Chiles Rellenos and Chiles en Nogada

Wedding traditions - when you're asked to be in a Mexican wedding, it may not just mean having to buy a dress and matching shoes or rent a tux; in some instances, you're actually helping to fund the wedding!
Who Pays for Wedding
Both families are involved in planning the wedding and help with all the expenses.
Sponsors of the wedding, such as parents, grandparents, godparents other relatives and friends as well as the bridesmaids and groomsmen, provide money for the wedding costs, or pay for something specific for the ceremony or the party which follows. In the Mexican tradition the wedding bridesmaids and groomsmen are paired and each pair is considered for a different role in the wedding ceremony.
One pair provide the bouquet for the bride. Another furnishes the Lazo which is a special symbolic rosary used to show the unification of the couple during the ceremony. Yet another pair brings the 13 silver or gold coins - Arras - in a special basket or box for the ceremony and if there are only 3 pairs, they also provide the kneeling pillows for the bride and groom to kneel upon during the wedding mass.

Slang - you know the standard "See you later, alligator," sentiment and its paired response of "After awhile, crocodile."  In Mexico, they have: "?Que pasa calabaza?" and "Nada limonada."
Other slang, "Si mon" for totally (or maybe we prefer hell yes?), and "naranjas" as slang for maybe, "No way Jose."

Mexican animals - if a rooster crows during the day (not the early morning) the weather is going to change - and the little bastards are RIGHT (It is thought that birds, and other animals, react negatively to a decrease in atmospheric pressure; it makes them restless. A restless rooster tends to crow more.)
Burros can also predict weather changes, and they're smarter than you; hence the story and associated children's rhyme to help them remember their vowels: !a e i o u, el burrito sabe mas que tu!

Evolution of a bug bite

Pinche mosquitos

And that's all I have to say about that.

El Lunes

 Best.  Churro.  EVAR.

Today was a good day in class.  After a bit of encouragement from my darling friend Karen, I decided to just go for it and be my normal chatty self and just blab away to my teacher today.  Of course, I had to do some prep work and I'm glad I did.  I knew they'd ask what I did this weekend, so I wrote it out in English on Sunday night and then translated it so I could be confident that I was doing it correctly.
I might be using the first book, but I feel like I might be doing better than I thought.  Felipa said the same thing as Elvira pretty much - that I learn very quickly and that I don't have a "North American" accent when I speak.  Felipa said she thought I must've grown up listening to Spanish.  Maybe it's just in the blood.  ;o)  In any case, it's great encouragement and I was game to speak a bit more to strangers after class as well.

In addition, I'm starting to feel like a bit more of a local now.  After class today I headed for a carnitas place (had to check it out before Dad gets here!).  I stopped and picked up Atencion on the way (since I know exactly where to find the guy now and how much it is), then found the carnitas place, Apolo XI.  I asked for a quarter kilo, with a little bit of fat, and got some salsa verde as well.  He gave me a sample as I was waiting and it was so good.  Not nearly as shredded as we Romos make it, but good.  Then I headed for Mercado Ignacio Ramirez to my "usual" stand.  I got a couple of limes and some grapes (you can buy half bags of grapes!  Well, whatever quantity you want really. . . ).  Then on my way to pick up tortillas I passed by the churro lady.  Why not?  I thought.  OMG you guys.  You have not had a churro until you have had one of these churros.  I mean, they're okay at home, but this was like, some black voodoo churro magic.  Maybe they fry them in unicorn fat, I have no idea, but they are WAY better than what we have at home, even though they weren't hot.  I headed for the tortilleria and asked for only 5 tortillas and headed home.  On the way, I stopped at a market close to home to get una Coca Cola Light y un Squirt (yes, Squirt!).  I have big tinto de verano plans, even though I'm not in Spain.  The tortilla shop I went to today had much better tortillas than the first one I visited in my opinion - these ones were much softer - probably because they were still warm out of la maquina.

M

My spoils: fresh corn tortillas, churros, limes, carnitas, salsa verde, Coca Cola Light, and Atencion.

I love that I can buy whatever quantity I want - something I learned today.  Because many people are poor, they buy the older fruits & vegetables (you know, the old beat up ones that are probably going to get tossed), or they ask if they can 5 pesos worth of something instead of a full amount or package.
AND - now I feel like a jerk because I did not get ripped off for my aguacate this weekend.  I asked my teacher today how much they were and she said 8-10 pesos.  She also told me that it's worth while to walk around to the different puestas (I think that was the word she used? - stands basically) and ask how much things are since different people may charge slightly less.  It is a total faux pas to bargain for fruits & vegetables - you can ask for less of something if it's in quantity, but that's it!
And, as for bargaining for other stuff (jewelry, pottery, etc.) - she said a little bit of bargaining is okay, but not to do that "What?!  That's way too expensive!  Bah!" kind of thing.  They give you a price, you say, "Oh, that's expensive" or "I don't have that much" and they ask what you think, you give them a price and they either say yes, no or counter again.  Then you take it, or you say thank you and walk away.  And don't go back every day trying to bargain again and again - either on the same item or on different things.  They don't care if you don't buy, but they don't want to be insulted!

I'm off for pizza tonight with Dina.  Hoping to be able to speak a bit more Spanish while I'm out - take advantage of the new confident streak.

Oh, on Sunday I took the house and garden tour hosted by the library.  It's all Yanks, mostly retired ones, but it's a decent thing to do to get to see some of the nicer homes.  Oddly enough, sometimes the family is just kicking it while you're cruising through their home, bedroom, kitchen, office - looking at photos, etc.  Then you're like - Oh hi.  Thanks for letting us all come traipsing through your home. . . .
The photos and video are posted on flickr - complete with American background chatter.

Sabado y el mercado

I love when Spanish mocks me with its simplicity.  In my pad, there is a can opener in the kitchen drawer, but what it really does is just sort of dent the cans on one side and and not slide along or open them at all.  I asked Alan if he had another one or knew where I could get one.  The dear apparently came by with one yesterday while I was P90X-ing and since I have no idea what the doorbell sounds like, AND I was on the third floor with Tony whatshisface shouting at me and wanting me to make punching noises, I missed him.
He sent me an email letting me know he had left it with a neighbor.  So today, I make my plan.  Of course neither I nor Alan know the word for can opener.  I could've looked it up sure, but I didn't think about it until I was walking up the hill from the market.  Plus, it's more fun this way or something.  I tell myself I should probably say, "Hola. . . ayer Snr. Alan se llavo una cosa para abrir las latas. . ." (Hi. . . yesterday Mr. Alan brought a thing for opening cans. . . ") and let things unfold.  I was close enough (even if I may have said "una cosa para abriendo las latas" - which may also be correct; I can't be sure).  Lucky day, she knew what I was talking about and grabbed the thing for me.  I then asked, "que es la palabra para eso?" (what is the word for this?) to which she replied "abrelatas."  Of course it is.  The thing to abrir las latas (open the cans) is an abrelatas (can opener).
:/

Squash blossoms at el mercado; I may not miss squash blossom season after all!

I also had one of those "special tourist prices" events down at el mercado.  Figuring I should stick with what I know, I sidestepped all of the nearer stalls with people asking me ?Que puedo llegar? (what can I get you?) and the endless other variations of people asking what I want or what am I looking for, and I head for the stall Concepcion brought me to on my first day in town.  Boys and girls, for $25 pesos (less than $2 US) I got:
dos cebollas (two onions)
dos jitomates (two red tomatoes - did you know that only the green ones are tomates and the red ones are jitomates?)
dos manzanas verdes (two green apples)
un mango (a mango)
I wanted un aguacate (an avocado) as well, but his weren't ripe, so I headed to another stand to pick one up.  This lone aguacate cost me DIEZ PESOS.  Half of what I spent on all that other stuff!  * sigh *
At least I know where to go for fair pricing, with or without Concepcion to lend me street cred.  Plus, the aguacates were just a tiny bit out of my reach; he could've just said okay and dropped it in the bag since I wouldn't have laid a hand on it until I got home, but he didn't.  He told me they weren't that ripe.  Awesome.

I then proceeded to sort of poke around the rest of the area around the market (it's called Mercado Ignacio Ramirez).  There were people everywhere so I figured something interesting must be going on.  Boy howdy, blocks and blocks and blocks of artisan handicrafts.  Talavera, joyería de plata, bolsas, telas, máscaras, juguetes, Día de los Muertos estatuillas, bandejas de plata, hamacas, muebles, los luces de las estrellas yo quiero. . . (okay, I totally had to look up a few of those words, but not all of them.  Anyway: Talavera, silver jewelry, bags, fabrics, masks, toys, Dia de los Muertos figurines, silver trays, hammocks, furniture, the star lights I want. . . ) - the point is, if they can make it in Mexico, you can buy it here.  And the prices - no huge surprise - are far less than at the nice shops off El Jardin.  Por ejemplo - los luces de las estrellas yo quiero - en un mercado cerca del jardin, que son $320.  Aqui, que son $100!

(For example, the star lights I want - at a market near El Jardin, they are $320.  Here, they are $100!)  That's right; I can get the dang things for like $8 US.  The figurines are less than $10 US here, but the quality isn't as good.  Still, it makes me pause when I considered paying almost $180 US for that Frida Kahlo one I want.

In any case, if you're here, we are SO going there, just so you know.

Stairs up to the rooftop terrace at Hotel Meson, where Cafe Iberico is located

Last night I went out with Dina, the girl from San Jose that I met at school.  We had a great time and hit up a couple of spots.  Embarrassingly, we were home by 11.  This is embarrassing since when I asked one of my (much older) maestras what she was doing for the evening, she told me that she and some of her friends were going rumba dancing and would maybe drink some tequila (mischievous look) and would be out until THREE OR FOUR.  I am seriously missing the whole experience it seems.
And lucky for me, I appear to have made the right choice in lodging.  Dina opted for the homestay program recommended by our school and she is not the happiest of campers.  It's about $30 per night (which is close to what I'm paying, but I get to read books and go online and have cereal whenever I want and don't have to eat "weird corn mold" tacos; although sadly, I probably would never even try a weird corn mold taco unless I was with a Mexican person that recommended it to me, and since I still have yet to find any Mexicans living in my house sharing their culture with me, I am out of luck), and includes two meals a day (mine does not); but she said she feels like she has inadvertently offended them several times.  Whether it's to close her window when she wants to take a shower and get ready (and they're in the patio outside her window talking), or if she isn't crazy about the food she's served or even, God forbid, GETS FULL, they give her this hurt routine where then she's all concerned that she's made some cultural blunder.  Since this family does this regularly, one might expect that they have gotten a teeny tiny bit used to the cultural differences that exist and might be more tolerant.

Awesome carved jaguar head fireplace and jungle leaf cabinets in the spa room at El Meson Hotel.

In any case; I've had a mostly home body day today.  I am going to cook up some carne asada, make some guacamole (even though I forgot to pick up ajo - garlic), eat it with the freshly made corn tortillas I picked up, and sit on the terrazza and relax- but first; P90X.  Wish me luck. . .

Homeopathic remedies and customs. . .

I forgot about all of the great things my maestras are teaching me.  I think this will be an ever evolving post as I learn new stuff.

- VapoRub (vapo roo for you Andrea; they say it just like that and it made me think of Rosa) on mosquito bites to stop the itch.
- garlic on scorpion stings to stop the burn.
- if you like someone of the same sex, don't say "me gusto" - that connotes a romantic interest.  Say "me caes."
- pie, as in the dessert variety is called pie - pi; don't try to get all pronouncy and call it foot - pee-ay - by mistake).  Chips are called chips.  Some things don't translate (please see also "big mouth," "putting ones pet to sleep," etc.)  Basically you can't just take your English words and trade them in for Spanish ones and expect to be understood.
- be very careful when saying comb - peine; really sound out those vowels, because pene means something else entirely and you don't want to be asking for it at the drugstore because you need it for your hair.  Subtle, but important.
- do NOT put your garbage out the night before.  The street dogs will tear the bag open because they can smell that tiny bit of chicken in the Ziploc bag.  Then you have a stoop full of garbage.  AND you can be fined.
- M80s and car alarms are perfectly acceptable at any hour of day or night.  If you hear a car alarm going off (and they do frequently because the streets are so narrow that any time a large car or truck goes by, it upsets all the smaller cars and they bleat), you can rest assured it will continue to do so for at least 10 minutes.  M80s sound like gunshots in the wee small hours of the morning or late at night - but it's only because when the streets are quiet, God can hear them better or something.  God apparently loves M80s.


WHEN VISITING:
- it's rude to "stop by" in Mexico; if you do, don't expect to be offered refreshments
- if you do call to come by, bring something with you - every time.  It seems wine is not enough if you're going over for dinner; they traditionally bring ham, cheese, eggs, etc.  If you're in town to visit friends, and you'll be going to their place several nights, the first night you should bring something for the house - a tablecloth, candlesticks, something.  Maybe you can get lazy the second night and just do the bottle of wine.  But the third night you better be showing up with groceries or a full bar.
- that said - the stuff you bring?  Is not for you to eat while you're there.  It's not like, "here is a great bottle of wine for you; let's open it!"
- if your Mexican friend tells you to visit them next time you are in town; they don't mean "come stay with me for two weeks" - they mean lets go have coffee
- If you're staying with someone, you should be prepared to either pay your way, or do stuff around the house.  If your host provides breakfast, you should provide lunch (yes, for everyone).  You should also be doing the laundry and tidying up as needed.  Basically - it's probably cheaper and easier to stay in a hotel if you're on vacation.

WHEN SHOPPING:
- It is a total faux pas to bargain for fruits & vegetables - you can ask for less of something if it's in quantity, but that's it!
- As for bargaining for other stuff (jewelry, pottery, etc.) - she said a little bit of bargaining is okay, but not to do that "What?!  That's way too expensive!  Bah!" kind of thing.  They give you a price, you say, "Oh, that's expensive" or "I don't have that much" and they ask what you think, you give them a price and they either say yes, no or they counter again with a price in between.  Then you take it, or you say thank you and walk away.  And don't go back every day trying to bargain again and again - either on the same item or on different things.  They don't care if you don't buy, but they don't want to be insulted!

Well I'm a big bundle of no fun. . .

Well, here it is, the end of the week and I haven't updated at all.  One might think that was because I was having so much fun running around and being busy and having fun and being busy having fun.  Well, that's part of it.  I do find myself busy, and some of the time it's with fun.  Other times I'm just watching Modern Family on Sidereel and that's not really update worthy.
Class is absolutely kicking my ass, to the point where I do that thing I am SO fond of - fighting back tears when I get frustrated with myself.  One of my teachers told me today that I understand a lot, and I learn very quickly, but I'm on my own in class because I don't speak.  I can't argue with that.  I do the book stuff quite well- the exercises, the reading aloud (she said my accent is much better than the other two ladies - Laura from Vermont, and Dina from San Jose), but when it comes time to chat, I am all "si" and "no."  I get so frustrated when I try to think of what I want to say and can't, especially if it's a vocabulary word we JUST talked about, or a verb I know I can conjugate but I'm drawing a blank and confusing past tense with future tense.  And these very sweet women look at me expectantly and really want me to try and the wanting to get it right spirals out of control and I absolutely freak out.  It's like, if I think I won't look like I know exactly what I'm doing, if I can't be a master of something; then I don't want to do it all.  I feel like I should KNOW this stuff.  I shouldn't struggle as much as I am.  It is utterly exhausting.
But also, incredibly fun.  I think I am more confident now than I was when I got here, and I know I just need to spend a bit more time studying some of this stuff on my own until it clicks into place.
So there you go; still bummed I haven't updated?

I had a couple of fun nights out playing pool with the American crew from UNO, and they were swell fun.  Tonight I'm going out to dinner with Dina, the girl from San Jose that is in the class opposite mine.  (We have two teachers - Elvira and Felipa; I have Elvira for the first two hours and Laura and Dina have Felipa, and then we swap).  So yeah, I'm getting 1:1 Spanish instruction for the price of group instruction, which is you know, FREAKING AWESOME.

pieces of art I'd totally like to buy (you can't see the Frida one; she was too much in shadow)

I've settled in to a pattern here - I get up, go to school until 1 and then grab lunch.  I might stop at a store (expect Mexican Christmas or birthday gifts if you have one upcoming) and shop a bit or look at the pieces of art I'd like to buy but totally won't, and consider buying the pieces I'd like to buy and totally might.  Then, as I digest, I read James' book, Wotz; either on my bed if it's pouring, or up on the terraza if it's nice (so you know, yesterday).  Then I do my P90X workout which absolutely kicks my ass; take a shower and then. . . .
I might go out to dinner, or if I have someone to hang out with (aforementioned Americans and Dina), I'll meet up with them; or else I'll cook at home and watch Modern Family or read some more or practice my verbs on spaleon.com.  Helpful, but not like speaking.
I think what I'll do is come up with some random story that I'd want to tell in English; then translate it and read it aloud to myself.  I was telling Quinn yesterday that if I need something at the market, I think of what I might need to say the entire time I'm walking over.  See, when I have time to prepare and think with no pressure, I don't panic.  Plus, I have no idea if it's correct or just close enough that they know what I mean, so there's less chance of me being corrected, which always feels like a win.

The weather here has been much much better - after the INSANE rain storm on Monday I think it was, the afternoon showers were much shorter and lighter, and yesterday and today have been sunny the entire time (so far).  It's muggy out there though, and walking up hill home after class leaves me gasping for breath and sweating like a pig.  Sexy, yes?  Then at night it cools off quite a bit, so it's not even like you get those "balmy" evenings, but let's be honest - it's a hell of a lot warmer than San Francisco is right now.

Dad comes down on the 12th for a few days (yay!), and then Patrick will come down for my final week (yay some more!).  Andrea and Duane are still mulling it over.  There is tons left to do: lots more city to explore, shops to poke my head into, vista points to check out, grottoes to visit, neighboring towns to travel to, two for one drink specials to be exploited and goat cheese to be eaten.  Stay tuned for more riveting updates!

Oh, and I've become quite enamored with the door knockers here (random, right?) and I've started snapping photos of them.  Check 'em out on flickr.

Day. . . um. . . Monday

Man, I have been so MIA!  Being here all alone with nothing to do sure does eat up some time!
So let's see - where have I been?
I spent most of Saturday at Starbuck's (I know, right?) avoiding the rain and reading through the local paper, Atencion.  It lists all of the activities going on in town and Alan said it'd be a great way for me to find some things to do.  It's definitely jam packed, and my calender is all filled with options - from other expensive cooking classes, to conversation practice at the library, to dance lessons and Zumba in the park, to tours and wine tasting.  I had lunch at a Spanish placed called Cafe Iberico.  The food was really good (goat cheese!) and they have a fantastic roof top garden that opens in the evenings.
That night, I was all excited to see the Spike Jonze flick, I'm Here, in El Jardin, but it started raining which chased me away.  I tried the next night as well, but that damn rain was determined not to let me see this movie.  To escape the rain I ran off to a nearby bar at a restaurant called Mama Mia, had some horrible "sangria" and attempted to speak Spanglish with a guy that struck up a conversation with me.  His name was Saul and he has his own shoe company.  He was very nice, and his English was about as good as my Spanish, so we talked about lofty things like the weather, and what band was playing, and where we were from.  I then headed out to try to meet up with the other Americans at a drag show (!!), but when I got down to the bar, it looked like there was NO ONE in it.  There was a cover, so I opted out and just headed home.

Yesterday I went for a walk to find the best route to my school, and had lunch at a cafe there, Mi Casa es su Casa.  Then I had a $2 Illy espresso (!!) at a cafe on the main square and spent a good chunk of the afternoon and evening hanging out at the film festival.  I caught the tail end of a documentary on the art of coloring b&w photographs with oil paint, then HavanYork, a look at the roots of Hip Hop via American and Cuban cultures, and finally, The Most Dangerous Man in America - a documentary on Daniel Ellsburg; the Pentagon Papers whistle blower.  He and his wife were there afterward for a Q&A session.  The entire afternoon was pretty amazing, even though I was basically sitting on a carpet covered wooden box for several hours, smooshed up near the ceiling of what became a very hot room.

Today was my first day of school and boy was I nervous.  I had been worried that I would be stuck in the "Hola, come estas" class of 7 folks who didn't speak a word of Spanish.  What I got was two other American women, who actually ended up being more advanced than me so I get my own "special" class.  I spent two hours with one teacher, Elvira, and then the next two hours with the other teacher, Felipa.  They are both incredibly nice Mexican women, and it is totally not their fault that I wanted to cry the entire time.  It was so frustrating, and embarrassing and I was annoyed at myself for not remembering more, and UGH.  I totally don't want to go back tomorrow.  But of course I will, and it'll get easier, and blah blah blah.  I mean, this is why I'm here.  So, my Spanish speaking friends - no more speaking English to me.  My teachers seemed a bit horrified that I have friends that speak Spanish but I don't practice with them.  And after this experience is over, I certainly don't want to end up in the same place of not remembering everything I worked so hard to learn!  Because of my desires, you are now all on the hook - lo siento.

I'm sure I had many more witty anecdotes and things to share, but my first P90X workout kicked my arse and I want to go study for school a little bit, so it looks like I know SOMETHING when I get there tomorrow.  Check out the Flickr page for more photos and videos!

Hasta luego.

End of Day Three . . .

I got brave last night and went to a bar called El Pegaso I believe - though if my subconscious memory serves, there are about 5 other bars/restaurants with the same name in town.  It was a nice roof top bar looking down on the edge of El Jardin.  They were preparing for some big - thing. . . fiesta or something.  They've been working on a stage all week, and today there was actually stuff on it and chairs being set up and tons of people milling about.  I thought - man, I have definitely been going back to my pad waaaay too early if this is how it gets in the evening.  I remembered it was Friday, and then when I saw all this stuff going down I realized this may not be your average Friday night crowd.  Still - it was the most excited and invigorated I've felt since arriving, which was good.

There was only one other group at the bar; four Americans.  After a while I mustered up enough courage to crash the party and ask for suggestions on things to do and see.  Turns out I had just stumbled into a small pod of a group of almost 100 creative writing students from the University of New Orleans.  Well whaddaya know.  I ended up drinking and having great conversation with them for several hours, and then, THEN I finally felt that "I'm on an adventure!" buzz.  All it takes is a little camaraderie and I'm on my way!  Yes, I know, meeting a group of young American writers isn't exactly language immersion, but I'm doing that all day, and I think exciting conversation with people I actually ended up having a lot in common with (sci-fi, Sam Raimi, skateboarding and snowboarding, Seattle, New Orleans, drag shows, drinks, love of travel. . . ) certainly won't kill me.  Of course I'm catching them at the tail end of their stay - they've already been here a month or so, and most are leaving in the next week.  At least it gives me a few things to do (readings, poetry slams, drag shows, karaoke) until I've been in class for a little bit and am feeling a bit braver to interact in Espanol.  And now we can all breathe a big, collective sigh of relief that Jen isn't locking herself in her casita every night catching up on True Blood (I'm all caught up now anyway).
At about 9pm they were getting ready to head to the next bar.  I hadn't eaten yet, so I thought I'd run home, eat some leftovers (so economical) and then come back out to meet them.  El Jardin was PACKED.  Live music - marching bands, mariachi; stilt walkers, papier mache characters. . .

It was pretty freaking awesome actually.  The buzz was invigorating and I was feeling on top of the world and like I was finally ready to get out there and have fun and do that whole convincing myself I'm not shy shtick.  And then I got home and ate. . .and completely ran out of steam.  I got a raging headache - maybe from the wine, maybe from the altitude, maybe from waiting too long to eat, I'm not sure.  Point is, I did NOT go back out and meet up with the group.  Lame!!  But I'm on my way out of the house now to explore and I don't know what.  Tonight I will certainly stalk some of the bars they were talking about last night to see if I can run into either this same group, or some of the other people in their program.

Soggy Day Three. . .

 mi casa

Right now I am sitting in my bed, drinking my favorite Mexican beer (Sol) and cursing the rain.  I was out and about all morning, but at a certain point, you can only take so much.  My shoes were like bags full of water (I imagine like those body wrap things where they put plastic bags on your feet and stick you on a treadmill), and I was completely soggified.  Not soaking wet mind you, but certainly less than dry.

I met up with Alan this morning to have coffee and give him his check.  We chatted for 15 or 20 minutes and then went our separate ways.  I was running a little late to my cooking class (I thought), so I didn't stop to get the English language paper, Atencion.  It lists everything going on for the week for us whiteys - tours, classes, etc.  I hope they're selling it when I go out later or I'm in trouble as I'm pretty much basing my weekend plans off of it.  As with most things in Mexico, the class didn't start until well after the hour, so I totally could've stopped.  It was nice actually; only four women in the class.  Two older women from Charleston, and one younger woman about my age from Mexico City.  Our teachers were very nice, and while the room is set up as a demonstration type class, they let us all get in the kitchen and help.

It was $50 for a two hour class, plus our lunch (and a margarita even!  though we laughed about how Mexicans don't drink margaritas).  The food was AMAZING (see my other blog for the recipes!) and I can't wait to cook it at home.  Seriously good.  I then bought about $50 additional dollars worth of dishes, which will probably cost me at least as much to ship home so I'm kind of hoping my dad comes down without a carry on so he can take these back for me.  :D

I don't know what's going on with my camera.  I took a few photos before class began, and when I pulled it out later, it wouldn't turn on.  I figured my batteries were dead, but I just put new batteries in and it's still not working.  So, fantastico; no camera.  :(  I used my iPhone to take more photos, but I mean come on, my iPhone?

I stopped in to drool over that Frida Kahlo Dia de los Muertos doll.  She's $180, but I'm in love.  I'll keep thinking about her, and look around in other shops and hope I find something similar for less that I like just as much.  At least she's not another animal in a suit, cast iron seahorse or snailio lamp, right?

I don't know what the rest of the day will bring, but the rain seems to have stopped, so maybe I'll venture out again after all.

Day two. . . part two. . . .

I've started uploading my photos for your viewing pleasure, and because I always have your best interests in mind, I'm not embedding them all into the blog since it would take ages for the pages to load.  Instead, check out my flickr photostream down there on the left.  The photo above is a house in my neighborhood to give you an idea of what it looks like.  I should've taken a photo of MY house, but didn't think of it until later, then I forgot, and now it's dark.  Manana, te lo prometo.

My stroll around town was fairly uneventful.  I hardly got rained on at all, which was nice since I didn't see any umbrellas actually. . . I walked and walked and walked looking for this one particular pharmacy that we drove past yesterday, only to realize it's only a few blocks from the house and had cut across to that street a block too late and missed it.  Oh well; I got some good exercise!  I'll give them cobblestone sidewalks (which are super narrow by the way, maybe 2 feet wide - I completely bashed myself on a window sill earlier), but the streets are insane.  Walking on them in flats with very little padding is not recommended.

The markets here are so odd to me, but that's one of my favorite parts of visiting other countries.  I loved in Europe how different shops specialized in different things - one for bread, another for meat, another for produce.  It's kind of like that here, except one is a shoe store/hair salon; another might only sell one or two things and just lots of them (diapers, baby formula, hand lotion and hair dye); another looks like someone's living room with people sitting around on couches watching tv, but then there is a big rotisserie full of chickens in the middle of the room; and tons and tons of huge home decor shops, crammed to overflowing with all sorts of awesome things I want to take home with me.  I kind of can't figure out how you would ever know where to go for anything.  It also seems like some of the shops might close mid-day, all siesta like.  I walked past several that I wanted to go into, but they were locked up, even though their hours said they'd be open.

The town square, El Jardin, is actually quite small; only a block with La Parroquia at one end.  I'm meeting Allan there tomorrow to drop off my rent check.  There were all sorts of people just hanging out; I can't tell if they're local, or tourists, or what, but isn't it a work day?  There was a little table for their version of the SPCA with a couple of dogs and a cage full of snuggling kittens, and a few other folks with leaflets and fliers, and of course vendors - men trying to sell woven bags, women in more traditional Indian style dresses selling little dolls, the carts with their churros and bags of fruit with wasps happily munching away on your purchase before you get around to it, which ew.  I also think ew about the women that are making chalupas or something on the street with their little hot frying pan bowl things, and their bag of meat just sitting out, waiting to go in your belly.  Of course I'm totally going to try one at some point.  I mean, I had ice in my Coca Cola Light today - so why not, right?  Speaking of which; I ate at Cafe San Francisco (oh, the irony) and had their enchiladas especiales - chicken with potatoes, carrots, queso and crema. 

There are plenty of young people in town, all Mexican though, so that makes me feel better.  Hopefully I can make some friends that want to practice their English as much as I'd like to practice my Spanish and I won't be kicking it with my elders the whole time I'm here.  It seems like there a lot of sort of almost hipstery, cool kids that ride around town on ATVs (which you can also rent by the way).  I think I'll have to follow Alan's suggestion of getting out into some nightlife instead of hiding here in the house, which I have opted to do again tonight so I can cook.  I figure Friday night is a better night to check out the bars and stuff anyway.  I hear there are a few "discotheques" as (Alan called them - discotecas, I'm sure) in town, that some of the wealthier kids from neighboring towns come to.  Why this is important I'm not sure, but he seemed to think I should go.  I saw lots of cool looking restaurants too, with nice bars, so I'm thinking I'll start there.  I just don't know if it's socially acceptable to be a girl/woman out alone, sitting at a bar, trying to start up conversations.

The weather hasn't been quite what I expected.  I thought it would be warmer during the day, but it's really only warm warm for a few hours.  The mornings are cool, things heat up a bit, the rain starts to spit at you around 3, it gets a bit muggy, it rains for sure closer to 4 or 5, and then it's cooler.  It's lovely out, don't get me wrong; in the low-mid 70s; I just expected a bit more heat and a bit less cloud cover.  Warmer than San Francisco, but don't come down with a closet full of sundresses, like someone else may have, is what I'm saying.

I'm pretty excited about the cooking school I found today; there is a class tomorrow and it's 600 pesos (about $47).  It's 11-1 and includes the food, obvi.  I'm guessing Concepcion would teach me for free - maybe next Thursday I can ask her; we did talk a bit about cooking today and I think she'd be game.  She is really super super nice, and I feel lucky to have such good people here to help me get settled.  This cooking school looks like the Mexican Sur La Table - created for the benefit of the American tourists that are staying in the neighboring hotels (I have three spas within spitting distance from my pad, and I actually saw valets or something hovering in the doorway of another hotel), and well, that sounds like me, so I guess I'll fit right in.  It's called Sazon, el arte de la mesa (the art of the table), and I bet that can pretty much paint a picture in your mind about what it looks like.  There are dishes there that you know I'm dying over; good thing I saw a FedEx store so I can shop away and ship things home; Patrick can attest to the fact that my luggage is already quite full.

I'm only swooning over a few other items; the star lights, which I always always always covet, every time I come to Mexico, and what do you know, they have them here in mercury glass (which I also have a thing for), and I think they're less than $20, so yay!  I am also drooling over (get ready for it) a Dia de los Muertos type statue of Frida Kahlo with parrots and monkeys, and yes, fine, roll your eyes.  I just always love those macabre little guys, and the one of Frida (or of the flamenco dancers -they'll also do) just caught my attention.  I'm not sure how much they are, but they all say "No tocas por favor" which makes me think they're caro.  I'll get bold and ask about the Frida one tomorrow; I was just all shopped out today by the time I saw her in the window.

 

this is not a photo of the ones I'm drooling over, just something I found online for reference in case you don't know what I'm talking about

Day two. . .

The night was uneventful.  No one broke in and kidnapped me, so that's good.  The bed is SUPER firm which I thought might be a problem but I slept like a damn log and would've kept going if Concepcion wasn't coming at 9:30.  No scorpions or earwigs in bed either, so that's a win. 

This drink is flippin delicious, though I obviously missed that "azucares" are the second ingredient because holy sweetness.  Here I thought I was being good and getting bottled mineral water with a little flavoring in it.  I saw sucralose further down  the ingredient list and thought I was safe.  Sorry South Beach.

I just got back from the market with Concepcion, which was nice.  We chatted a bit - very elementary because I get tripped up if she goes too fast or uses proper verb conjugation - it's like a whole new word to me that I don't understand ("how did you know about San Miguel" uses the verb "enterer" which I can conjugate in the present tense, but when she said "entero" I was like, "wha?  Entero?  No entiendo. . ." ) .  At one point she asked me if I had never been married (casado), and I thought tired? (cansado/a) and was like huh?  Until I thought the word over as we walked and said, "Oh!!!  Casado!!  No!  Pero tengo un novio" and she kind of laughed and said, "married!" so I think she must've been trying to think of the right word too.

I'm sure I'm getting the special turista prices (which means everything costs more; like a cab that should've been 25 pesos was 35), so it was kind of nice to go to the market with a local so I didn't get TOO ripped off.  I got a bunch of stuff (lettuce, tomato, avocado, cucumber, two limes, three onions and two apples) and it was less than $4 US - take THAT Whole Paycheck.  The smooth skinned veggies are super waxy though, which leaves your hands feeling all greasy and weird.  We also picked up the iodine drops so I can wash everything, so don't worry if you come down and I make you a salad - you're safe.
I'm going to head out soon to find lunch (I swear, there is food everywhere, from restaurants, to the aforementioned doorways, to tamale trucks) and explore a bit so you can look forward to some photos this evening.  The streets change names every block or so, so please wish me luck finding my way back.    You're all going to get spoiled while I'm new here and not running around much since I'll have all this time for updating; but I'm sure I'll be back to my usual busy bee self soon enough.  There is an art gallery opening tonight that I might check out.  Alan said I can at least score a glass of wine and some snacks.  I am concerned about my age more and more as time goes on - Concepcion commented on how young I was twice.  I wish I knew how to play shuffleboard or bridge or something; I'm starting to feel a bit out of my age range.

In sadder news, it seems that my grandfathers have a habit of passing away when I am in another country.  Last night we lost my mom's dad.  He had cancer, and Alzheimer's and his life was pretty lame the last several months - living in a nursing care facility with a bunch of sick and dying people, laying in bed most of the day, watching tv, waiting for visitors . . .I hated that that's where he was.  My grandmother went to see him nearly every day and they were very cute, but I know it was hard on everyone.  I'm glad he's not suffering, or confused any more, but it's very hard to be away from my family right now.
So; Mom, Grandma, Aunt Danette, Uncle Mike, Michelle, Jason, Tanya & Aaron, Uncle Patrick, Aunt Carol, Jessica, Danielle, Aunt Tina, Uncle Dale, Sarah & Catie -  Please know that I love you all very much and I'm thinking of you, and I'm so sorry that you're going through this and that I can't be there with you.  Please give each other lots of hugs for me.  xoxox

And as for you Grandpa. . .
Sé que sería feliz que estoy estudiando español de nuevo, porque éste es un vínculo que compartimos cuando era más joven. Espero no tener que usar traductor Google la próxima vez.  Te quiero, y te echo mucho.

My home away from home

Dig it!!

Day one in San Miguel. . . .

The trip here was long - I didn't sleep much on the first leg of the flight which isn't like me, but I had a squirmy girl next to me that kept knocking me around (after trying to tell me that my seat - seat A - was an aisle seat so she could stay at the window; I think she was irritated that I was right so took it out on me using her joints).  We landed in Mexico City around 7am (5am my time) and then my connecting flight was two hours late leaving, making for a 5 or so hour layover.  A direct bus trip from Mexico City to my final destination would've only taken 3.  When I finally got to Leon airport (smallest.  airport.  evar.) and got my bags, it was nearly time for the bus I had planned to catch after lunch.  Oh well, I'm sure a cinnamon roll and a bag of chips are decent enough fuel to run off of, especially combined with two types of caffeine!   Caught a taxi to the bus station; caught the bus to San Miguel.  If you're going to come visit; just take a cab direct, or arrange a shuttle in advance.  This was a good chance for me to practice my Spanish, which was surprisingly decent, but filled with some blank stare moments where I tried to apply the word they were giving me to the situation and came up empty handed. . . (why does the bus ticket agent keep saying "lugar" to me?  Doesn't lugar mean place?  I already told him San Miguel. . . . Oh - he wants me to select a seat. . . ).  A sweet little puppy escorted me through the pouring rain into the San Miguel bus station (he had a thing for luggage wheels it seemed) and I caught a cab to my new house.

Alan was there waiting for me, and I seriously cannot say enough nice things about this man.  He has been emailing me tips as he thinks of them since I told him I'd book his place.  Then, he meets me at the house, helps me carry my bags, gives me the grand tour, tells me about all the little quirks and visitors (the semi crazy possibly partially gay man next door that I'm best off just ignoring, and the scorpions. . . . scorpions?!).  He gives me an hour to get settled in, which I use to take the above video, then comes back to get me to take me to the big market on the outskirts of town.  He sits in a little cafe and waits, while I stock up.  Then he takes me to a local restaurant where we have lovely conversation and he gives me some ideas for nightlife (he's quite concerned that I might be the only person under 80 floating about town), and in return I bought him dinner.
On the way through town, he took me the longer way, past the town center (El Parque), and my school (Instituto Allende), AND a Starbucks, a Blockbuster and a Domino's Pizza!!  All of which look horribly out of place.  I can't wait to take photos to show the town a bit better - I'm so not used to peeking into a shadowy doorway that looks like it leads into someone's home only to realize it's a small shop or market, or gorgeous courtyard.

He has made it clear that he doesn't want to bother me, but that if I have any questions while I'm here, I can shoot him an email.  I can't imagine a better welcome to a strange town where I speak the language about as well as a shy 6 year old.

And so now, here I am.  Laying low for the evening to unpack and get used to the noises of the house (there are plenty) and see if I have any roommates I wasn't expecting (note to self to shake out towels, pull back blankets on bed, and check shoes before slipping feet in).

Concepcion (the housekeeper plus) comes tomorrow, and Alan said she'll take me to the market to shop for produce and stuff and show me how to clean it so I don't have to deal with Montezuma.  He also said she'd cook for me and/or teach me to cook, which, hello awesome.

I think I might get a little case of the lonelies, and I'm definitely wishing Patrick was here since I think he'd enjoy this experience.  I'm excited to explore the town tomorrow, and maybe get my P90X on. . .