Many of us that have traveled know about thus two decker buses that give tours around the city...well, today i rode one with Viviana. It was awesome! Haha! And it was her idea. She said she has always wanted to do it, but her friends would never go with her. For those of us that live in Liberty, it´s like wanting to go see the historic Jesse James Bank or something like that. I know much of the city, but I was dying to get out of the house.
Everyone woke around 11 and Maria prepared breakfast/lunch. I had juevos rancheros (a tortilla with a fried egg and salsa that you eat like a taco)...very good! We boarded the bus around 12:00 and headed out on the tour. An elder couple joined us for the trip...haha. Just us four. We made a loop of the city and arrived downtown, where the bus stopped. It was a stopping point for the whole fleet of buses the company had and people could depart and reboard whenever they pleased all day as the buses left from downtown every half hour. We walked to the large market downtown (Mercado Libertad) and strolled through the isles, passing trinket upon trinket. Glass bottles here, shot glasses there, sombreros, wood boxes, leather items, wallets...pretty much anything you can think of. The isles were cramped with people out and about to enjoy there day off. For the most part, it was all things I´ve seen before, and for Viviana also. After about a half hour we made our way through the maze to get out.
We exited from a different side of the building I had never been in, and when we were outside I was confused where we were. In front of us stood a large plaze with the entrance to a museum to the left of us. Of course, being on the adventure we were on decided to enter. It was a very large, old stone building with many courtyards and side entrances where the exhibits were at. We strolled though, looking at all the art when I spotted one tiny piece in particular. When I was in Barcelona, Spain, I visited the Pablo Picasso Museum and saw much of his work. Well, to my amazement, I pinpointed this painting to be a picasso and turned out to be correct. I kind of think of myself as a art conoseur now...not that I can spell it. Haha. Ok...not really obviously, but I was semi-proud of myself.
After the museum, we walked out to some music playing at a nearby outdorr resturaunt, and stopped for some micheladas (beer, tomato juice, salt, and lime)...so good and refreshing. Did I mention that the sun was scorching today. Heard 2 feet of snow fell in Liberty...what luck! Viviana and I had a great conversation at the table and at times I couldn´t believe the rate at which my spanish was coming out of my mouth. It definitely surprised how much I was improving. And using new words as well!
We slurpped two micheladas a piece and decided thats all we should have so we could walk back to the bus. We were in the middle of the plaza (large courtyard-like area with no streets), but I told Viviana it was okay, and i yelled for a taxi. She laughed histerically. Mexicans really like simple jokes like this. Very easy crowd! haha!
When we arrived at the bus, we had two options, 1) head home, or 2) take the bus to Talaquipaqui, a small little town 15 minutes away. Of course, I said lets go to Talaquipaqui...we´ve already paid for it. So we did. I really enjoy the small pueblo (town) feel. The people are friendly and life moves at a very comfortable speed...a speed I enjoy often. Haha! We popped in and out of shops, but still saw similar items. We saw a stand for lighters and began to look at them as Viviana is a smoker. We picked up a couple and awwed in their flames, until I decided to pick one up that looked like a pistol. I jokenly aimed it at Viviana and pulled the trigger, and rather than a flame, a bolt of electrictiy shot down through my arm and I dropped the lighter. Viviana was sent into a sudden hysteria of laughter and could barely contain herself. Not at realizing what had happened, continued with a look of worry on my face. Then remembering a similar thing from back home, i realized it was one of those things you use to pull pranks on your friends. It was pretty funny because I had no idea.
We continued on and at one point I asked Viviana if these people made any money because everyone sells the same stuff, but she assured me they did. After succeeding in my efforts not to buy anything we got back on the bus; this time on top because the sun was going down and it was beginning to cool off. The ride back to Guadalajara was fun and Viviana quized me on the various words she had taught throughout the day. We arrived in downtown at the bus dropoff point and exited once again because the driver said he was going to park there for twenty minutes. When we got off, we noticed a large group of people gathered near a stage. We walked over just in time to see the start of a free jazz concert. The sun was just barely over the horizon and the lights under the crevices of the buildings began to turn on. It was very beautiful. There was also a demonstration going on to show your pride for Guadalajara. People were handing out markers and paper and had you write a few words of appreciation for the city. Naturally, Viviana made me do it (throughout the day she made me order and ask questions to the vendors so I could practice). I wrote ¨Te Amo Guadalajara¨(I love you Guadalajara) and signed it John El Peluquero (John the Barber). She got a kick out of that and they took our picture and posted it, with my note on a giant banner they were displaying.
After that it was about 8:30 and Viviana had several missed calls from Maria. We grabbed a Taxi and headed home. We arrived to a waiting meal and had a great time discussing our day with Maria over it. Viviana had plans and took off for the night and for the passed hour or so, Maria and I have been talking. A great conversation to end the day about life, and the things that are important. At one point she began to cry and almost had me into them. She has a giant heart and I can´t believe how much she loves me sometimes...its crazy. But I have a lot of love for her and her family as well. It really is great to be back here!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Putting my Costco Membership to use!
I managed to make it out of bed a little earlier this morning...10am. Nothing to be proud of. But better than my noon rise the first day. The weather is extremely hot down here and I think my body is having trouble adjusting. I´ve been having reoccuring headaches that don´t seem to pass and I know it is from the heat. We´re talking around 90 degrees. Not to mention, I haven´t had a cup of coffee since my arrival. Come to think of it, this probably has some weight to the reason my head hurts. None the less, life as a mexican is very slow. I spent most of the day reading my book, ¨Three Cups of Tea.¨ I highly recommend it to all of you. I know Katie wants it after I´m done, but I´m sure she´ll be done with it in a matter of a few days, so whoever would like it, let her know.
At about noon, Maria grabbed her keys and yelled, ¨vamos john,¨and we were out the door. I had mentioned to her yesterday that I wanted to take her to Costco and buy some food and supplies while I was here. Really, I just wanted to take her shopping so she could get some essentials that she needed. She loved the place. We literally had to go through every single isle. At first it was difficult for her to pick out things and put them in the basket, but after 10 or so isles I had her speaking up about what she needed...toilet paper, soap, salt, meat, noodles, peppers, eggs, and milk. We would talk about what was a good price and what was rediculously expensive. It was a lot of fun. She would look at the price of apples, oranges, and limes and roll her eyes to the sky because it was so expensive. I put a few things in the cart for myself like two bottles of wine and a case of beer. They are real into flavored water drinks down here and at every meal we have some sort of powder added to the water to make a sweet, refreshing drink. With this in mind, I put a huge tub of gatorade concentrate into the cart. Oh, the whole time we shopped, little Wendy (her son´s daughter) was with us in the cart. The total came out to be around 1,900 pesos, which turns out to be about $135 dollars. It was about what I had budgeted for the trip...maybe thirty dollars over or so. But it was worth it! I´m staying here for free, and they treat me like one of their own family members. I felt like I was robbing them if they didn´t let me help contribute in some way. $135 for two weeks...not bad.
Tonight, we are going to go over to Viviana´s (Maria´s daughter) cousins house to talk about the idea of classes next week. I have so much time during the day, and I´d like to work on my spanish while I have time. We went to a school yesterday and it was really nice and i´d like to study there for two weeks, but the price is a littl expensive...$380. Not sure if it is worth it. But it would get me out of the house and into a new part of the city which would be fun. The school is right in the middle of downtown. I don`t know. We´ll see how the meeting with their cousin goes tonight. She would charge me what would come out to be $7 or $8 an hour. Which is by far cheaper, but I don´t know if I´d like it better in an actual school.´ We´ll see!
Oh, and I´m sorry I don´t have any pictures at this point. The computer I use won´t recognize my camera cord, so I can´t get them on here. I´m going to see if I can download something from Cannon to help.
At about noon, Maria grabbed her keys and yelled, ¨vamos john,¨and we were out the door. I had mentioned to her yesterday that I wanted to take her to Costco and buy some food and supplies while I was here. Really, I just wanted to take her shopping so she could get some essentials that she needed. She loved the place. We literally had to go through every single isle. At first it was difficult for her to pick out things and put them in the basket, but after 10 or so isles I had her speaking up about what she needed...toilet paper, soap, salt, meat, noodles, peppers, eggs, and milk. We would talk about what was a good price and what was rediculously expensive. It was a lot of fun. She would look at the price of apples, oranges, and limes and roll her eyes to the sky because it was so expensive. I put a few things in the cart for myself like two bottles of wine and a case of beer. They are real into flavored water drinks down here and at every meal we have some sort of powder added to the water to make a sweet, refreshing drink. With this in mind, I put a huge tub of gatorade concentrate into the cart. Oh, the whole time we shopped, little Wendy (her son´s daughter) was with us in the cart. The total came out to be around 1,900 pesos, which turns out to be about $135 dollars. It was about what I had budgeted for the trip...maybe thirty dollars over or so. But it was worth it! I´m staying here for free, and they treat me like one of their own family members. I felt like I was robbing them if they didn´t let me help contribute in some way. $135 for two weeks...not bad.
Tonight, we are going to go over to Viviana´s (Maria´s daughter) cousins house to talk about the idea of classes next week. I have so much time during the day, and I´d like to work on my spanish while I have time. We went to a school yesterday and it was really nice and i´d like to study there for two weeks, but the price is a littl expensive...$380. Not sure if it is worth it. But it would get me out of the house and into a new part of the city which would be fun. The school is right in the middle of downtown. I don`t know. We´ll see how the meeting with their cousin goes tonight. She would charge me what would come out to be $7 or $8 an hour. Which is by far cheaper, but I don´t know if I´d like it better in an actual school.´ We´ll see!
Oh, and I´m sorry I don´t have any pictures at this point. The computer I use won´t recognize my camera cord, so I can´t get them on here. I´m going to see if I can download something from Cannon to help.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Departure Day
After a fun last night with Katie, Andy, Park, and Caleb down in Westport, Katie and I managed to squeeze in 3 or so hours of sleep before the alarms started ringing at 4:20 in the morning. Man was it early. And anyone who has ever laid down in Katie´s bed knows it is a difficult place to leave....probably the most comfortable bed I´ve ever laid in. Plus, this would be the last time I get to sleep in it at the house on Fairview. And the last time I´d get to sleep with Katie for a while. So, you can imagine I wasn´t too excited. But I was about to embark on my adventure and I felt ready. Ready, but nervous. Luckily, Katie had whipped me into shape the day before and my bags were packed and everything was right next to the door ready to go. We were out the door just after 4:30 and to the airport a little before 5:00. However, I didn´t manage to make it into the airport until about 5:15. Goodbye was very difficult and tears were exchanged pretty heavily. Not an easy thing to do, to turn from the person you love and walk away, leaving her behind. But I mustered up enough courage, with hopeful thoughts that I´ll be seeing her in a little over two weeks. The hard part is yet to come.
I had a two hour lay-over in Phoenix and I spent my time in a little restaurant where I had a breakfast quesadilla and coffee for $15.00 including tip. At 12:45 I boarded my plane to Guadalajara. The flight was full of mexicans and a few Americans. All in all, the plane was only half full and I had the entire row to myself. I started reading a new book that was recommended to me by one of the spanish teachers at Liberty Middle School. It is called ¨Three Cups of Tea.¨ It is absolutely amazing!
When I arrived at the airport in Guadalajara, I had no problems with customs, nor exchanging my $20 for pesos. By the way the exchange rate here is unbelievable. The American Economy is suffering, but the dollar is very valuable down here right now. My $20 was able to get me 270 pesos, when in the past i could it was about 10 pesos to the dollar. I had budgeted the $20 for the taxi, but I managed to negotiate the trip for 220 pesos. For the most part the trip was quiet and I didn´t bring myself to really speak until halfway through the trip. Spanish came easily to me even though my full year of not speaking. I was impressed how naturally it felt. Being back in Guadalajara felt great. Almost like a return home. Everything was still familiar and it was easy to navigate the driver to Maria´s house. When we arrived, Maria headed outside to greet me. I didn´t know it yet, but she had been waiting since 6 am. There was some sort of miscommunication when I spoke with her the day before. But it was of no importance and she was so happy I was there. We embraced and she showed me into the house. She put me in the same room I´ve stayed in the other two times I´ve been. It was so clean and the two twin beds had ben pushed into one giant bed. A great place to stay...and for free!
We spent the next few hours talking about my family and hers. Soon the questions turned to more of a political toon and then to religion and then to life and love. We always have the most interesting conversations. I can´t imagine what they would be like if we could do them in English.
That night, her daugter, Viviana, came home from work and we watched The Ring 2. So scary! Her and Maria made fun of me because I kept getting scared. I can´t help it. Anybody who has watched a scary movie with me knows I am kind of a puss. Haha!
I had a two hour lay-over in Phoenix and I spent my time in a little restaurant where I had a breakfast quesadilla and coffee for $15.00 including tip. At 12:45 I boarded my plane to Guadalajara. The flight was full of mexicans and a few Americans. All in all, the plane was only half full and I had the entire row to myself. I started reading a new book that was recommended to me by one of the spanish teachers at Liberty Middle School. It is called ¨Three Cups of Tea.¨ It is absolutely amazing!
When I arrived at the airport in Guadalajara, I had no problems with customs, nor exchanging my $20 for pesos. By the way the exchange rate here is unbelievable. The American Economy is suffering, but the dollar is very valuable down here right now. My $20 was able to get me 270 pesos, when in the past i could it was about 10 pesos to the dollar. I had budgeted the $20 for the taxi, but I managed to negotiate the trip for 220 pesos. For the most part the trip was quiet and I didn´t bring myself to really speak until halfway through the trip. Spanish came easily to me even though my full year of not speaking. I was impressed how naturally it felt. Being back in Guadalajara felt great. Almost like a return home. Everything was still familiar and it was easy to navigate the driver to Maria´s house. When we arrived, Maria headed outside to greet me. I didn´t know it yet, but she had been waiting since 6 am. There was some sort of miscommunication when I spoke with her the day before. But it was of no importance and she was so happy I was there. We embraced and she showed me into the house. She put me in the same room I´ve stayed in the other two times I´ve been. It was so clean and the two twin beds had ben pushed into one giant bed. A great place to stay...and for free!
We spent the next few hours talking about my family and hers. Soon the questions turned to more of a political toon and then to religion and then to life and love. We always have the most interesting conversations. I can´t imagine what they would be like if we could do them in English.
That night, her daugter, Viviana, came home from work and we watched The Ring 2. So scary! Her and Maria made fun of me because I kept getting scared. I can´t help it. Anybody who has watched a scary movie with me knows I am kind of a puss. Haha!
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