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| Teotihuacán, Mexico |
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| Paracho, Mexico |
09 February 2009
A few photos...
It's already 9:00 pm and I have work to do, so I'll upload the last week's photos as soon as I get the chance. For now, enjoy Teotihuacán (ruins near Mexico City) and Paracho, where we bought our new guitar (Sally 23).
Tequila, Mexico
Last Saturday, we left with a few other students for the program-led trip to Tequila, Mexico. After about an hour-long drive, we arrived at the La Cofraida distillery. We enjoyed free margaritas and the lovely scenery while we waited for our guide, and then began our tour of the factory. In the span of a couple hours we learned more than we ever needed to know about tequila - the process of making it, the history, the types, and the correct way to taste it. Because I can, I'll share this info with you.
First, Tequila is made from blue agave plants. This is a type of cactus that takes 10 years to mature (when it does, it sprouts a single flower in the center). The plant's leaves are then sheared off and the center (which looks like a pineapple) is baked for 40 hurs in batches in huge ovens, causing it to become naturally sweet. (In fact, Agave is also used as an alternative to sugar). The "pineapples" then need to be picked apart by hand and are pressed to extract the liquid (the remaining fibers can be used for clothes and paper). The agave is then fermented in huge vats with some salt water and yeast before it is distilled. Legally, it is required that the factories distil the alcohol twice before selling it as tequila, and from the giant fermenting vats, only about 10% of the liquid makes it through the 2nd distilation. (Some types of tequila are distilled an additional time after that).
The pure resulting tequila is called Tequila Blanco, which in its best form (and from this distillery) is made from 100% agave and bottled directly after distillation. It's completely clear, and burns a bit when you drink it, but it tastes very crisp. Alternatively, tequila is also placed into wooden barrels for various amounts of time to soften the bite, adding flavor and color. Tequila reposado has spent 2-11 months in a barrel, is slightly softer and darker than tequila blanco, and tastes slightly sweeter. Tequila añejo spends 1-3 years in a barrel, is smoother still, and darker. There is also another type of añejo that spends 3-5 years in a barrel, and another name entirely for tequila that ages even longer than that, but I don't remember those names and we only tried the first three types.
Apparently, the correct way to drink tequila is to simply swallow the first taste (or shot, depending on the person) without pausing - "Don't think, just drink" as our guide explained. This is to open up the throat and allow you to enjoy the other tastes more. After that, you should put the tequila in your mouth, move it around a bit for a few seconds, inhale, swallow, and exhale. This leaves the taste very strongly in your mouth (though, with the blanco and reposado, it does burn a bit). The custom of drinking tequila with salt and lime (salt to build up saliva to help with the tequila, then lime to soften the taste) comes from a long time ago when the tequila was much stronger, and is still used today for crappier tequilas (the ones you don't WANT to taste). Apparently, with 100% agave tequila, you should drink it alone or else you kill it by mixing in other flavors.
Are you an expert yet? There's more. For instance (not trying to shatter your worldview), tequila never has a worm. That drink is called Mezcal and is made from a different type of cactus, although it looks similar to blue agave. Also, you are about to discover how tequila was discovered (or the legend thereof). Originally, the natives who grew agave used the leaves for all sorts of things (including roofing of their houses!) but, upon trying the bitter raw agave, decided it was not useful for anything and thew it away. One day, there was a storm and a bolt of lightning hit the agave plant. The people came out to see where the new, sweet smell was coming from and they tried the new, cooked, agave. They loved it! They began to use it as a sweetener and to make drinks from it. Well, one day some dingbat left the agave water out for too long and it fermented. He tried it anyway, and it's been party-time in Mexico ever since...More or less.
We tasted some of the very sweet flavored liquors as well and bought a bottle for our host family before heading back into the town of Tequila for lunch. All in all, a fascinating, educating, and slightly intoxicating day. But now that we both understand the process and history of tequila (a drink that neither of us had ever liked before), we appreciate and enjoy it much more. That's all for now until I can get more photos up... much love to everyone and *cheers*.
First, Tequila is made from blue agave plants. This is a type of cactus that takes 10 years to mature (when it does, it sprouts a single flower in the center). The plant's leaves are then sheared off and the center (which looks like a pineapple) is baked for 40 hurs in batches in huge ovens, causing it to become naturally sweet. (In fact, Agave is also used as an alternative to sugar). The "pineapples" then need to be picked apart by hand and are pressed to extract the liquid (the remaining fibers can be used for clothes and paper). The agave is then fermented in huge vats with some salt water and yeast before it is distilled. Legally, it is required that the factories distil the alcohol twice before selling it as tequila, and from the giant fermenting vats, only about 10% of the liquid makes it through the 2nd distilation. (Some types of tequila are distilled an additional time after that).
The pure resulting tequila is called Tequila Blanco, which in its best form (and from this distillery) is made from 100% agave and bottled directly after distillation. It's completely clear, and burns a bit when you drink it, but it tastes very crisp. Alternatively, tequila is also placed into wooden barrels for various amounts of time to soften the bite, adding flavor and color. Tequila reposado has spent 2-11 months in a barrel, is slightly softer and darker than tequila blanco, and tastes slightly sweeter. Tequila añejo spends 1-3 years in a barrel, is smoother still, and darker. There is also another type of añejo that spends 3-5 years in a barrel, and another name entirely for tequila that ages even longer than that, but I don't remember those names and we only tried the first three types.
Apparently, the correct way to drink tequila is to simply swallow the first taste (or shot, depending on the person) without pausing - "Don't think, just drink" as our guide explained. This is to open up the throat and allow you to enjoy the other tastes more. After that, you should put the tequila in your mouth, move it around a bit for a few seconds, inhale, swallow, and exhale. This leaves the taste very strongly in your mouth (though, with the blanco and reposado, it does burn a bit). The custom of drinking tequila with salt and lime (salt to build up saliva to help with the tequila, then lime to soften the taste) comes from a long time ago when the tequila was much stronger, and is still used today for crappier tequilas (the ones you don't WANT to taste). Apparently, with 100% agave tequila, you should drink it alone or else you kill it by mixing in other flavors.
Are you an expert yet? There's more. For instance (not trying to shatter your worldview), tequila never has a worm. That drink is called Mezcal and is made from a different type of cactus, although it looks similar to blue agave. Also, you are about to discover how tequila was discovered (or the legend thereof). Originally, the natives who grew agave used the leaves for all sorts of things (including roofing of their houses!) but, upon trying the bitter raw agave, decided it was not useful for anything and thew it away. One day, there was a storm and a bolt of lightning hit the agave plant. The people came out to see where the new, sweet smell was coming from and they tried the new, cooked, agave. They loved it! They began to use it as a sweetener and to make drinks from it. Well, one day some dingbat left the agave water out for too long and it fermented. He tried it anyway, and it's been party-time in Mexico ever since...More or less.
We tasted some of the very sweet flavored liquors as well and bought a bottle for our host family before heading back into the town of Tequila for lunch. All in all, a fascinating, educating, and slightly intoxicating day. But now that we both understand the process and history of tequila (a drink that neither of us had ever liked before), we appreciate and enjoy it much more. That's all for now until I can get more photos up... much love to everyone and *cheers*.
A week (and counting) in Tlaquepaque
We've been in Tlaquepaque (a neighbor of Guadalajara, in Mexico) for just over a week now. Our host family is very nice and talkative and Silvia's food is amazing...although the cat, Boris, did pee on our bed when he got the chance to enter the room. (We don't let him in anymore.) We get up around 8:00, have a huge breakfast (Silvia won't let us get away with any other kind), and then get to school by 9:00 for a two hour class followed by a half hour break and another 2 hours with a different teacher. My classes have 2 other students right now (the newest started today) - a 27-year-old graduate student in history, and a maybe 40-something counselor who lived in Guadalajara 10 years ago. They're both very nice and we have fun conversations in class. Our two teachers are Alejandra and Miguel (these are Jay's teachers this week too, though in the opposite order) and the classes are strongly conversation based. Alejandra's classes have a bit more grammar and structure, whereas Miguel's classes are almost entirely conversations based off of tangents of tangents. I love the combination, and we're all getting a lot of conversation time.
The program at the school offers almost-daily excursions and outings including dance classes, tours of Tlaquepaque and Guadalajara, wrestling matches, and trips to nearby cities. We tried the salsa class but didn't like it (more flair than partner dancing); went to Chapala, Ajijic, Guachimontones and Tequila (yes, THE Tequila); and this week we will probably see a wrestling match, go for a hike, and take a weekend trip to Guanajuato and/or Queretaro.
We're also getting to know Tlaquepaque and the people in our program a bit better. It's amazing to see the age range of students - within the regular group classes, we're the youngest and the oldest couple right now is somewhere between 60-70 years old. Though most are from the States or Canada, there are a couple Japanese girls who came today, a girl from Holland, and 2 girls who take private lessons (and are studying ceramics with our host family!) from England and Australia. I say "girl", but again, there's a large range of ages with 19 being the youngest and the oldest maybe late 20s or early 30s. Everyone comes from a different background and it's fascinating to learn more about the travels and experiences of our classmates.
One week flown by, 3 more to go. Many more updates (and photos!) to come, but I'll add information about Tequila in another entry... Jay will tell you about the other trips.
The program at the school offers almost-daily excursions and outings including dance classes, tours of Tlaquepaque and Guadalajara, wrestling matches, and trips to nearby cities. We tried the salsa class but didn't like it (more flair than partner dancing); went to Chapala, Ajijic, Guachimontones and Tequila (yes, THE Tequila); and this week we will probably see a wrestling match, go for a hike, and take a weekend trip to Guanajuato and/or Queretaro.
We're also getting to know Tlaquepaque and the people in our program a bit better. It's amazing to see the age range of students - within the regular group classes, we're the youngest and the oldest couple right now is somewhere between 60-70 years old. Though most are from the States or Canada, there are a couple Japanese girls who came today, a girl from Holland, and 2 girls who take private lessons (and are studying ceramics with our host family!) from England and Australia. I say "girl", but again, there's a large range of ages with 19 being the youngest and the oldest maybe late 20s or early 30s. Everyone comes from a different background and it's fascinating to learn more about the travels and experiences of our classmates.
One week flown by, 3 more to go. Many more updates (and photos!) to come, but I'll add information about Tequila in another entry... Jay will tell you about the other trips.
Our excursions
So since we´ve been here for a week in Tlaquepaque, we´ve had the chance to go out on a couple trips around the area. Last Wednesday (the 4th), we headed out to both Chapala and Ajijic, both smaller areas within Jalisco, for the afternoon after classes ended at 1:30. Jill, the organizer, along with her fiancè Danny, Jessie, myself, and many other students in the program hopped in the rented van driven by the young yet very talented Miquel (who has since driven us to two other locations). Jill made sandwiches (which were amazingly good), and after we all downed them in record time, we arrived in Chapala.
We didn´t have much time or space to explore the city properly, but Chapala has a lovely beach area with a small plaza and an excellent walking area. There was a bit of construction going on near the docks, so due to the noise Jessie decided to spend most of the time napping on a bench near a central fountain. After an hour or so of leisurely relaxation, we hopped back in with Miguel and ended up in Ajijic, another small town where, honestly, I can´t even remember what we did. There was, however, a great resort-ish area with a restaurant, lots of awesome buildings and native-looking structures (for example, a sauna in the top of a faux-ancient giant wooden head). Lots of stairs, too. We all retired to the restaurant for a few drinks and just chilled. It was nice, relaxing, and mostly uneventful in a good way. We got a chance to talk with our fellow students and have a small change of scenery and pace.
The next day after classes, we all boarded up with Miguel again, this time to Guachimontones, an archelogical site showing the Teuchitlàn tradition, which is, according to Wikipedia "a complex society that existed from as early as 300 BCE until perhaps 900 CE." We went to a small museum first which explained a bit of the history of the culture, watched a short movie (where I started and completed much of my homework for the night) about the restoration of the sie, and then headed out to actually see the stepped pyramids. The area is relatively small, and not exactly grandoise, but very very beautiful (with a great view of the city below) and extremely telling of the culture. There were a couple restored pyramids, with the largest one being about 60 feet high, and our guide had a lot of information. One thing that really stood out was the Mesoamerican ballcourt, where the losers of the game were sacrificed. Funsies. We asked a bit about this, and apparently (Jessie correct me if I´m wrong), there are two types of games.
1) A personal challenge, between friends or enemies, wherein the challenger and challengee each bring their own team (however the judge makes the ultimate decision of who can play), they all duke it out, and the winner gets to say "lo, take this loser and cut off all [or only some, if he´s nice] of his limbs, and spread them far and wide so that he may forever remember how he has lost to me."
And 2) The time of the sacrifice has come, the players volunteer themselves, and the winners are sacrificed. Willingly. Like, they play harder so that they may be the chosen ones. So at least they´re ready for that one.
Saturday we went to Tequilla, which rocked hard (Jessie will tell you all about it).
And our most recent trip has been to take a Tapatio Bus Tour around Guadalajara on Sunday. It´s a double decker bus with an open top, where tickets cost about $110 pesos (roughly $8 USD) and we receive an orange wristband which allows us to get on and off at any of the designated stops. Buses come every 30 minutes or so, so the tour can last anywhere between 2 hours or all day. The interesting thing at the beginning of the day for us was that, being Sunday, the local road to Guadalajara, where the bus normally picks people up, was closed off for bikes. Apparently this happens every Sunday. Which rocks, but damn it, that was our bus street. So we asked around (the locals are exceedingly friendly and used to tourists), walked about, finally found the bus, and enjoyed the scenery. Photos forthcoming of that.
We got off at two seperate points, and by the time we wanted to get back on at the end, the Tapatio buses had stopped running. We ended up again asking la gente de la calle y la ciudad for help, they accomadated us con mucho gusto, and we made our way back without event. Oh, except the first city bus broke down in the middle of the street without warning, so we all had to transfer over to another, which was fun.
The next trips planned are (maybe) a Mexican wrestling event in Guadalajara on Tuesday, a small historical walking tour of Tlaquepaque on Wednesday, and a weekend trip to Guanajuato and/or Queretaro as Jessie has said.
Thanks for the time! Love to all :)
-Jay
We didn´t have much time or space to explore the city properly, but Chapala has a lovely beach area with a small plaza and an excellent walking area. There was a bit of construction going on near the docks, so due to the noise Jessie decided to spend most of the time napping on a bench near a central fountain. After an hour or so of leisurely relaxation, we hopped back in with Miguel and ended up in Ajijic, another small town where, honestly, I can´t even remember what we did. There was, however, a great resort-ish area with a restaurant, lots of awesome buildings and native-looking structures (for example, a sauna in the top of a faux-ancient giant wooden head). Lots of stairs, too. We all retired to the restaurant for a few drinks and just chilled. It was nice, relaxing, and mostly uneventful in a good way. We got a chance to talk with our fellow students and have a small change of scenery and pace.
The next day after classes, we all boarded up with Miguel again, this time to Guachimontones, an archelogical site showing the Teuchitlàn tradition, which is, according to Wikipedia "a complex society that existed from as early as 300 BCE until perhaps 900 CE." We went to a small museum first which explained a bit of the history of the culture, watched a short movie (where I started and completed much of my homework for the night) about the restoration of the sie, and then headed out to actually see the stepped pyramids. The area is relatively small, and not exactly grandoise, but very very beautiful (with a great view of the city below) and extremely telling of the culture. There were a couple restored pyramids, with the largest one being about 60 feet high, and our guide had a lot of information. One thing that really stood out was the Mesoamerican ballcourt, where the losers of the game were sacrificed. Funsies. We asked a bit about this, and apparently (Jessie correct me if I´m wrong), there are two types of games.
1) A personal challenge, between friends or enemies, wherein the challenger and challengee each bring their own team (however the judge makes the ultimate decision of who can play), they all duke it out, and the winner gets to say "lo, take this loser and cut off all [or only some, if he´s nice] of his limbs, and spread them far and wide so that he may forever remember how he has lost to me."
And 2) The time of the sacrifice has come, the players volunteer themselves, and the winners are sacrificed. Willingly. Like, they play harder so that they may be the chosen ones. So at least they´re ready for that one.
Saturday we went to Tequilla, which rocked hard (Jessie will tell you all about it).
And our most recent trip has been to take a Tapatio Bus Tour around Guadalajara on Sunday. It´s a double decker bus with an open top, where tickets cost about $110 pesos (roughly $8 USD) and we receive an orange wristband which allows us to get on and off at any of the designated stops. Buses come every 30 minutes or so, so the tour can last anywhere between 2 hours or all day. The interesting thing at the beginning of the day for us was that, being Sunday, the local road to Guadalajara, where the bus normally picks people up, was closed off for bikes. Apparently this happens every Sunday. Which rocks, but damn it, that was our bus street. So we asked around (the locals are exceedingly friendly and used to tourists), walked about, finally found the bus, and enjoyed the scenery. Photos forthcoming of that.
We got off at two seperate points, and by the time we wanted to get back on at the end, the Tapatio buses had stopped running. We ended up again asking la gente de la calle y la ciudad for help, they accomadated us con mucho gusto, and we made our way back without event. Oh, except the first city bus broke down in the middle of the street without warning, so we all had to transfer over to another, which was fun.
The next trips planned are (maybe) a Mexican wrestling event in Guadalajara on Tuesday, a small historical walking tour of Tlaquepaque on Wednesday, and a weekend trip to Guanajuato and/or Queretaro as Jessie has said.
Thanks for the time! Love to all :)
-Jay
01 February 2009
Mexican health clinics, crafstman guitars, and our new home for a month
After exploring the huge park, historical center, and Korean restaurants of Mexico City, we had an adventure of another type: Going to see a doctor. Thanks to the doxycycline that we've been taking religiously to prevent malaria (we'd been in and out of malaria zones during our time in South America and would be entering one again by going near the Guatemalan border)...my stomach decided enough was enough. Well, actually my stomach had been doing fantastically well, but I had abused it by taking one of the daily pills too late after eating, with not enough water, and just before sleeping. Starting the next morning (coincidentally, the day we left for Mexico), and continuing for the rest of the week, every bite of food resulted in a very angry, painful, burning response from the top of my stomach. It was useful in a way (I now know that it takes only 3 seconds for food to travel down my esophagus), but mostly just painful and extremely non-condusive to eating, traveling, or otherwise enjoying life.
Worried that it might be something very serious, but not in any mood to spend time in a hospital, we went to a pharmacy in central Coyohuacán for a cheap (about $1.50) consult. The doctor was the sweetest person I have ever seen in a health clinic - she talked with us about our travels, commented that Jay looks very Mexican (sigh), and, additionally, clearly knew exactly what was happening as soon as I mentioned Doxycycline. Her remedy: Stop the doxycycline for as long as possible (at least 10 days), take some fun new medicine to fix my stomach lining (pharmacy next door), and not eat any spicy or greasy food for three days.
...Hm. As to the first two, we'd been 4 weeks out of a dangerous malaria zone, so we were okay to stop the pills for a while (until entering Guatemala), and I am fine with the new pills... but no spicy food? No greasy food? And we'd just arrived in Mexico. So I've been quietly watching Jay down large quantities of delicious, spicy, greasy (deliciously so) food while I timidly munch away at.... cucumber. And tomatoes. And the occasional agua de horchata. Oh well. At least we've taken two things away from this: (1) Cheap Mexican health clinics are amazing, and (2) doxycycline should be consumed with food and lots and lots of water.
The next day, reassured that I wasn't dying, we headed to Teotihuacán, a site of Aztec ruins near the city. We spent a good deal of time observing mere mortals from the tops of huge pyramids, and we saw an Isaac look-alike. (Photos to come later, but seriously, he was identical except for the speaking Spanish). A good day.
We then boarded an overnight bus to Uruapan, where we dropped our stuff off in a hostel and headed to Paracho, a center of classical guitar-makers. We browsed, "ooh"ed, and "aah"ed at the pretty nylon-stringed instruments, sampled a few, and ended up talking for at least an hour with the (40-something) son of a guitar-maker. He practiced his English, Jay practiced his Spanish, and many band names were exchanged. All the while, Jay was playing away on one of the pretty guitars. Upon entering the store and noting the higher quality of the instruments, we were pretty sure it was going to be out of our price range, but the guitar ended up being well under $100, with a sturdy case included. We took her home and named her Sally 23 (in honor of the absurd number of Korean students who have adopted the English name Sally, and the fact that Mexico is Jay's 23rd country to visit, not to mention our current age).
So yes, we have a new guitar. She's very pretty. And she sounds nice. (These are my professional observations on the matter... I think Jay could be a little more descriptive).
That night, after spending the last night on a bus and the day wandering around in the sun, we crashed early, but were woken up first by fireworks from the nearby plaza (WHY does EVERYONE need to celebrate our arrival? These little celebrations seem to follow us...), and then by a band. A loud one. With distorted guitar, bass, and a drummer who may or may not have been on speed. Turns out there was a Metallica tribute concert next door. Starting at 10:30 PM. Ending at... I don't know, but when I woke up at around 5:00, I was surprised by the silence.
And now we are in Tlaquepaque, a district just south of Guadalajara. Did you notice the slight change of plans? The school in Oaxaca finally got back to us about homestays and it turned out that I had a family with 3 family members and 5 foreign students... and Jay had a separate, similar situation. That's not a homestay, that's a hostel. We asked for a single family for just the two of us, and the program director said she'd get back to us...but we still haven't heard (seeing as the classes were supposed to start tomorrow, we aren't holding our breath). In the meantime, we researched options in other cities, and found a school here that has a similar program, but with better homestay options. We met our family just a few hours ago - Silvia, the mom, is the main person in charge of foreign students. We are the only two staying, and we have our own area of the house (in fact, the entire Northern half of the ground floor) for studying and sleeping. Silvia is incredibly sweet, as is her younger son Jacob, who learned English in school and is happy to practice with either language. The father (Eduardo?) and older son are a bit more reserved, so we haven't really had a chance to talk to them yet. The family also runs a ceramics business that they inherited from Eduardo's father (who started it over 80 years ago). Their workshop is attached to the house and takes up half the entire block. Right now they're working on sink basins for a 5-star hotel in Chihuahua. Hand painted and everything!
They also have canaries in the patio, a few stray cats that they've sort of adopted, and a purchased cat that hides upstairs. The younger son is still in school, and the older son runs an internet cafe on another side of the house. (But we found a cheaper one near town center :-))
Ah, and in addition to the house being a 3-minute walk from school, we also found a Taekwon-do/Hapki-do/Kickboxing studio right down the street from the house, so we'll go in tomorrow (after our first day of classes!!) to see if we can sign up for a month. Plus, Silvia is a great cook and, upon learning that my birthday's on Tuesday, she's making tamales! We're pretty excited.
That's all for now, I have to go take my medicine and we need to go settle in.
Much love to everyone and remember. When stuck in Scrabble with too many Qs, "Tlaquepaque". (If you can slide a proper noun in.)
Worried that it might be something very serious, but not in any mood to spend time in a hospital, we went to a pharmacy in central Coyohuacán for a cheap (about $1.50) consult. The doctor was the sweetest person I have ever seen in a health clinic - she talked with us about our travels, commented that Jay looks very Mexican (sigh), and, additionally, clearly knew exactly what was happening as soon as I mentioned Doxycycline. Her remedy: Stop the doxycycline for as long as possible (at least 10 days), take some fun new medicine to fix my stomach lining (pharmacy next door), and not eat any spicy or greasy food for three days.
...Hm. As to the first two, we'd been 4 weeks out of a dangerous malaria zone, so we were okay to stop the pills for a while (until entering Guatemala), and I am fine with the new pills... but no spicy food? No greasy food? And we'd just arrived in Mexico. So I've been quietly watching Jay down large quantities of delicious, spicy, greasy (deliciously so) food while I timidly munch away at.... cucumber. And tomatoes. And the occasional agua de horchata. Oh well. At least we've taken two things away from this: (1) Cheap Mexican health clinics are amazing, and (2) doxycycline should be consumed with food and lots and lots of water.
The next day, reassured that I wasn't dying, we headed to Teotihuacán, a site of Aztec ruins near the city. We spent a good deal of time observing mere mortals from the tops of huge pyramids, and we saw an Isaac look-alike. (Photos to come later, but seriously, he was identical except for the speaking Spanish). A good day.
We then boarded an overnight bus to Uruapan, where we dropped our stuff off in a hostel and headed to Paracho, a center of classical guitar-makers. We browsed, "ooh"ed, and "aah"ed at the pretty nylon-stringed instruments, sampled a few, and ended up talking for at least an hour with the (40-something) son of a guitar-maker. He practiced his English, Jay practiced his Spanish, and many band names were exchanged. All the while, Jay was playing away on one of the pretty guitars. Upon entering the store and noting the higher quality of the instruments, we were pretty sure it was going to be out of our price range, but the guitar ended up being well under $100, with a sturdy case included. We took her home and named her Sally 23 (in honor of the absurd number of Korean students who have adopted the English name Sally, and the fact that Mexico is Jay's 23rd country to visit, not to mention our current age).
So yes, we have a new guitar. She's very pretty. And she sounds nice. (These are my professional observations on the matter... I think Jay could be a little more descriptive).
That night, after spending the last night on a bus and the day wandering around in the sun, we crashed early, but were woken up first by fireworks from the nearby plaza (WHY does EVERYONE need to celebrate our arrival? These little celebrations seem to follow us...), and then by a band. A loud one. With distorted guitar, bass, and a drummer who may or may not have been on speed. Turns out there was a Metallica tribute concert next door. Starting at 10:30 PM. Ending at... I don't know, but when I woke up at around 5:00, I was surprised by the silence.
And now we are in Tlaquepaque, a district just south of Guadalajara. Did you notice the slight change of plans? The school in Oaxaca finally got back to us about homestays and it turned out that I had a family with 3 family members and 5 foreign students... and Jay had a separate, similar situation. That's not a homestay, that's a hostel. We asked for a single family for just the two of us, and the program director said she'd get back to us...but we still haven't heard (seeing as the classes were supposed to start tomorrow, we aren't holding our breath). In the meantime, we researched options in other cities, and found a school here that has a similar program, but with better homestay options. We met our family just a few hours ago - Silvia, the mom, is the main person in charge of foreign students. We are the only two staying, and we have our own area of the house (in fact, the entire Northern half of the ground floor) for studying and sleeping. Silvia is incredibly sweet, as is her younger son Jacob, who learned English in school and is happy to practice with either language. The father (Eduardo?) and older son are a bit more reserved, so we haven't really had a chance to talk to them yet. The family also runs a ceramics business that they inherited from Eduardo's father (who started it over 80 years ago). Their workshop is attached to the house and takes up half the entire block. Right now they're working on sink basins for a 5-star hotel in Chihuahua. Hand painted and everything!
They also have canaries in the patio, a few stray cats that they've sort of adopted, and a purchased cat that hides upstairs. The younger son is still in school, and the older son runs an internet cafe on another side of the house. (But we found a cheaper one near town center :-))
Ah, and in addition to the house being a 3-minute walk from school, we also found a Taekwon-do/Hapki-do/Kickboxing studio right down the street from the house, so we'll go in tomorrow (after our first day of classes!!) to see if we can sign up for a month. Plus, Silvia is a great cook and, upon learning that my birthday's on Tuesday, she's making tamales! We're pretty excited.
That's all for now, I have to go take my medicine and we need to go settle in.
Much love to everyone and remember. When stuck in Scrabble with too many Qs, "Tlaquepaque". (If you can slide a proper noun in.)
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