The last couple days have been filled with so many things to do and stuff to organize.  I spent Thursday printing out yet another paper for my writing class and then went to Valenciana.  The class I had there wasn’t too bad and ended at about 1 pm (an hour early).  That day I didn’t do too much because I had a stomach ache and headache for some reason.  I had a full night’s sleep and felt back to my normal self on Friday.

            On Friday I spent the morning on Suzanne’s roof tanning myself.  I just love sitting on her roof so I can see the gorgeous view of the city.  Not much can beat sipping a coca-cola, listening to my iPod, and sunning myself.  The only drawback is that there is a walkway behind our houses that goes up to the Pipila monument.  It isn’t used that often but sometimes people yell out to us and that can get annoying.  They are too far away for me to care so I just keep my headphones in and ignore them.  After tanning and eating lunch, I rushed out the door so I could go to an English class that my Spanish conversation teacher was teaching.  He invited me to come so his students could have some actual practice with English.  I was supposed to meet him at 4 pm.  The place where his little class was located was a part of the city I had never been to before.  Well I think I have actually been there one time in January driving by on a bus with my study abroad group but that was it.  I left a little early so I could have time for wrong turns and getting lost without being late.  From my house it was a full half hour of walking.  I am glad I walked there, though, because there was a whole part of the city that I did not recognize.  I took my camera and snapped pictures on my way to the class.

            I finally made it to the class and saw another American student there helping out.  There were only three older Mexicans in the class.  I stayed for about an hour and a half talking about everything from sports and my opinion of Guanajuato to their opinion of Mexican corruption.  I left at about 5:30 pm and started my journey back to my house, taking pictures along the way. 

            That night I met a couple friends at a bar I had never been to, called Zilch.  The bar is located on the second floor and roof of a building just off of the jardin union.  A big group of us were meeting so we could hang out and say goodbye to one of our friends and study abroad students that was leaving a week early.  On Zilch’s menu I found a mocha frappuccino, so I chose to try that.  I love the ones from Starbuck’s and I wanted to see how those compared.  I would give it a 6.  It was very good and mocha-like but it was extremely sweet.  The whole bottom third of the glass was filled with chocolate syrup.  I drank a little of it and then handed it over so other people could try it and drink the rest of it. 

            After hanging out at that bar, we decided to make our way to Guanajuato Grill ( a dance club).  The people at the door wanted us to pay a cover.  None of us wanted to and were about to walk away when they waved us in.  That is one perk about being a girl.  It has happened multiple times.  If you are a girl, the cover to get into bars is lenient.  For guys, there is almost no way of getting around paying a cover.  It is wonderful! We walked inside the “Grill” and found out they were having an 80s and 90s party.  We stayed until about 3:00 listening to songs like “We built this city” and “Ice Ice baby”. 

            Most of Saturday was spent shopping for stuff to take home.  I walked around with my friend, Kristin, up to the stores behind the Pipila.  While there, I saw one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while. Sometimes those stores sell really weird souvenirs.  This was just downright funny.  Kristin and I walked into this little store and she started to look a decorative license plates.  Just to the right were wooden key holders.  On one of them where was a picture of the Presa (city dam).  It is just about the size of a bigger pond surrounded by pretty trees and a concrete tower.  I looked closer and somehow someone added a picture of a killer whale coming out of the water.  Are they even freshwater animals? I don’t think so.  I took a secret picture so all of you guys could see if it looked a little odd to you.

My beautiful mocha frappuccino

Can you see the whale?

I can’t believe my time here is all but over! I am very excited to go home but I am going to miss this place so much.  Guanajuato is unlike any place I have ever been to; I just love it.  I have felt like my life has kind of been on hold for this past semester.  My only responsibilities have been going to class and getting my homework done.  With all the excursions and trips I have gone on, it seemed more like an extended vacation.  The way of life here is just more relaxed and slower.  I get back to Indiana late Saturday night and then that following Monday; I start my summer job at a law firm.  My older sister is also getting married next weekend.  I will miss not having to always think about what I am going to do with my life or how gas is getting more and more expensive by the day.  I made a vow that somehow, I am going to return to Mexico someday again for an extended stay.  I don’t know if it will be over a semester or just a summer program, but I know I want to come back.  I know that the majority of Mexico  is not like Guanajuato but everyone is so nice and the landscapes here are gorgeous.  When I came here I didn’t really know how Mexicans would treat me because I was an American.  I’ve received overwhelmingly positive attitudes from the people of Guanajuato. 

            I am totally not prepared to leave.  I am leaving tomorrow and my bags stilled aren’t packed.  I’ve spent this whole week shopping for family and friends.  I am also taking pictures of literally everything that I walk by so I won’t forget it when I walk home.  I am probably going a little overboard but I just keep thinking that once I am back, I won’t be able to get most of these souvenirs.. 

            Besides shopping this week, I also got the skirt that I bought in Leon altered.  My host mom took me to her neighbor and she altered it as we were waiting.  My host mom said that she also makes dresses and almost any shirt in a magazine that you see.  She fixed my skirt wonderfully and it only took about twenty minutes.  And the best part….  it only cost me about $2!  In the United States, even a little alter like I had would cost at least $10.  I love Mexico!

            Yesterday was my last visit to the orphanage I have been volunteering at this semester.  It is so sad that I very well might not ever see them again.  They are all so cute and unique in their own way.  Suzanne and I went to help them with their homework and just hang out with them.  The children started playing with Suzanne’s and my hair: braiding it and putting it in funky ponytails.   

            Saying goodbye to everyone is definitely one of the hardest parts of leaving, especially after being here for almost five months.  All of the study abroad students became immediate friends because we were all interested in learning Spanish.  I’ve become so close to these people but we all live in different states.  We have already been planning reunions to Mexico and have pinky-promised to attend each others’ weddings in the coming years. 

            I probably better get going so I can begin to pack five months worth of stuff into two bags and a carry-on.  I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I will make it fit.  Even if I have to squish or sit on my bag, it will fit! Wish me luck!!

Monument at Plaza de la Paz.

Sunset on Plaza de la Paz.

I was soooo happy; I finally got a chance to go to Leon for a day.  As time started getting closer for me to go home, I was afraid that I would not get a chance to look around there.  Suzanne and I decided to meet at 9 am in front of her door.  We walked down to the Plaza and exchanged some of our money for smaller bills at a bank.  From there we waited about a half hour to get on a bus to take us to the bus station.  We got to the bus station at about 10 am and bought economy tickets for a bus that was leaving ten minutes later.   The bus was totally not as nice as the Primera Plus buses that I had been used to taking from the bus station.  I didn’t really mind because it was only a half hour or forty minute trip.  We got to the bus station in Leon a couple minutes after 11 am. 

            Leon is known as the shoe capital of the world.  I was hoping to find a pair of these red velvet ballet flats that lots of girls had been wearing around Guanajuato but I could never find around where I live.  Literally right when we walked out of the bus station, there were shoe and purse stores as far as the eye could see.  I was in heaven!!!  Suzanne and I decided that we wanted to walk around as many shoe stores as possible, the big mall in Leon (Plaza Mayor), and the historical center.  We held off on buying our return bus ticket because we didn’t know what time we would be done in Leon.  They had buses running every twenty minutes to and from Leon until 10 pm so we weren’t worried about finding a way home. 

            We started off on our shoe and purse adventure.  There were so many stores it was almost overwhelming.  Right off the bat I found a really cute purse in a huge store full of other pretty purses.  I decided to hold off on buying it in case I found something else at another store later in the day.  A friend that had been in Leon before told me about a mall a couple blocks from the bus station that was solely dedicated to shoes called the Plaza del Zapato ( Plaza of the shoe).  We found the mall with no problem.  It wasn’t extremely big but there were probably around 65 little shoe shops spread out over two floors.  While there, I found a store that also sold a couple pieces of clothing.  I fell in love with a skirt at the store that was only 55 pesos but I decided to hold off on that as well.  They wouldn’t let me try it on so I was a little iffy because I didn’t know if it would fit me. 

            At around 12:30 pm we decided to hail a taxi and go to our next stop, the Plaza Mayor.  The mall was absolutely huge.  I had been in there one time before with my host family but only for about a half hour so the mom could buy a shirt.  We were both hungry so we headed for the food court.  It was just like your typical American food court; it even had a Cinnabon and Burger King.  I got pizza and a coke and Suzanne got a chicken sandwich and coconut juice.  She had never tried coconut juice so she wanted to try it.  We each tasted it… and it was awful! It tasted like bad cough syrup, seriously! She finally had to buy a coke because she couldn’t finish the juice.  After eating, we both headed to what looked like a big arcade room just to look around.  That was when we noticed a ride that made a circle from the arcade room, through part of the food court, and back into the arcade room from the ceiling.  We looked at each other and knew we had to at least try and ride it. 

            We went up to the counter of the arcade room and asked how much it cost to ride that hover thing (I don’t know the real name).  She said it cost 15 pesos each but you also had to buy a 10 peso card before you could ride it.  We were okay with paying two dollars each so we got our cameras ready.  Suzanne went by herself so I could take pictures and then I went so she could take pictures of me.  It was hilarious! The ride went very slowly so we each got tons of pictures.  I felt like a dork up there but oh well; I’ll probably never see those people again, so I don’t care.  We walked around the mall for a little bit after that.  I didn’t buy any clothes there because all of the stores were very expensive.  The clothes were very cute but I wasn’t going to pay outrageous amounts for them. 

            The next stop on our Leon adventure was the historical part of the city.  It took about ten or fifteen minutes from the mall to get there.  We were dropped off and headed for a big church just around the corner.  It was a beautiful church and I wish that I appreciated it more than I did.  All of the churches here are absolutely gorgeous so it is hard to still be “wowed” by churches now.  From there we saw another church several blocks away and decided to head toward it to see what that one looked like.  We underestimated how many blocks it actually took to get there.  When we finally did get there, the gates were locked.  It made me so mad that we walked all that way for nothing.  I did take pictures from the outside of it, so it wasn’t a total loss.  We walked back where we were dropped off and walked around the main plaza.  I took some pictures of pretty fountains and smaller churches.  There were not as many shoe and purse shops in that part of town so I was sad.  I was still on my mission to find the red velvet ballet flats. 

            Suzanne and I wanted to walk around more shoe stores so we headed back by the bus station.  Instead of taking a taxi, we found a bus that said it was going to the bus station.  We weren’t quite sure where we were dropped off, but the driver assured us that the bus stop was two blocks away.  He was right and we headed off in a new direction from that point.  I went back and bought the purse and skirt I had been eyeing.  Suzanne bought a cute pair of flip flops.  After endless searching it too many shoes stores to count, I still could not find my beloved red shoes.  I am thinking of going back next week if I have time to try and find them. 

            We left Leon at about 6:30 and chose to pay six extras pesos for a snack and an air-conditioned bus.  At the Guanajuato bus station, we hopped onto a city bus to take us back to the center of town.  That bus took exceptionally long for some reason because we ended up finally making it back to our houses at about 8:15 pm.  Walking around all day wore me out! I think I went to bed by 10 pm that night!

Me on the hover craft ride!

Me in front of the Plaza Mayor.

Me and a pretty fountain.

This past Saturday night I did in fact see the new Indiana Jones movie.  It cost me 19 pesos ($1.90) to go see the movie as a student.  On top of that, Suzanne and I were each given a little thing of popcorn.  We went to see the movie at a new movie theater right next to the main University of Guanajuato building.  The theater has only three rooms but it was still nice.  The movie was dubbed in Spanish and there was actually an intermission during the movie.  I thought that was a little weird because I didn’t think the movie was exceptionally long.  I have only seen an intermission one time during a movie and that was “Gods and Generals” which is about three hours and forty minutes long.  After the movie, Suzanne and I walked to the Jardin Union and got some ice cream.  My ice cream wasn’t that good but it wasn’t too expensive.  After that we walked around for a while deciding what we wanted to do next.  Suzanne suggested going to a new bar near a café she always go to. 

            We walked from the Plaza de la Paz to the bar and just as we were outside the bar, we noticed a guy standing outside by himself.  I recognized him because he was standing in the Plaza de la Paz when we walked by there.  He must have followed us for ten minutes to the bar.  He came up to us and introduced himself as Pauldrich (I am totally butchering the name but it’s the best I can do).  He said that he was from Ireland and has been travelling around South America and Mexico for the last two months.  He was travelling by himself and said his job was translating documents for the Irish government.  It actually ended up being a lot of fun talking to him because he had travelled around to so many places.  He said that he had even been to Cuba, but that we weren’t missing out on much.  Let me try to remember what he told me about it.  According to his information, if you come as a tourist you have to stay at least three days in a hotel.  Also, if you take money out of an ATM, the government takes 12% of it!! He said there are several resorts that are gated and the only Cuban people inside are the workers.  He told us the beaches were pretty but nothing spectacular.  He had also been to several places in Chile and other South American countries that I can’t remember.  After about an hour of talking, we paid our bill and headed back to Plaza de la Paz to go home.  He walked with us so he could get some tortillas at a food stand that was still open.  I thought it was cool to meet someone from Ireland in Guanajuato.  I felt bad that he was travelling alone but he seemed to be enjoying the freedom.

            On Sunday Suzanne and I went to church and then to the supermarket to buy Cokes and sweet bread.  When I got to my house, one of the new girls was already there.  Her name is Renza and she is actually a year older than me.  About a half hour later the second girl showed up, named Alicia.  Both girls are very nice.  Alicia had never been outside of the US before this so it was a little bit more of a culture shock for her. 

            Around 5:30 pm or so, the girls and I met up with Suzanne and her new housemate to go take a tour of the city.  It was also Miner’s Day in the city and we heard that that parade was supposed to be the biggest parade of the month.  We walked all around the city and ended at one of our favorite cafes just off of the Jardin Union.  After sitting and relaxing for a while, we walked toward the Plaza de la Paz where the parade was supposed to go by.  When we got there, we noticed other students from my program walking around with their new housemates.  The new students are part of the summer program here (there are 92 of them!).  My program only had about 20 people.  We waited for more than an hour for the parade to come by.  The parades always start at different times so you just have to guess when to get there by how many people are lining the streets and if the police have already blocked it off.  At around 9 pm it finally came to where we were standing.  We watched about the first half hour of it.  There were miners with their hard hats and lights on.  They were also the Aztec dancers and people carrying floats of saints or virgins.  The girls wanted to go home before it ended because they were really tired from their flights and getting settled in.  I still heard the parade going on for well over an hour after we headed back.  It was very loud with the basilica bells, the drum lines, and people yelling. 

            The next morning I walked the girls to school and waited around in the city for them to be done so I could walk them back.  I went to my favorite café, Café Atrio, off of the Jardin Union and then went to the computer lab.  While there, I emailed my University to see if I needed to write another paper that was more analytical in nature for my Spanish writing class in Valenciana.  My advisor emailed me back right away and said that he was not quite sure that I would receive credit for that class since it wasn’t hard enough.  I kind of started to panic because I had less than two weeks left in Guanajuato to write another paper and hand it in to my teacher to grade.  My advisor and I emailed a couple other times back and forth and finally got it worked out.  He said I would get credit if I wrote one more paper for the class and had the teacher give it an informal grade.  That bummed me out because then I knew part of my week was going to be spent writing a paper when I thought I was pretty much done for the semester. 

            Later that evening I walked Alicia and Renza to the ISA office where they were going to be given a formal tour of the city.  The director asked me and a couple other ISA students from the semester program to help out with the tours since there were so many students.  I ended up taking my housemates around again with five other people.  We walked around the city just like I had done the night before, but this time I also showed them where the ATMs were, where the bus stops were, and some local clinics.  I met up with Suzanne when our tour was done because I wanted to talk to her about going to Leon the next day.  Leon is the city we flew into about a half hour away.  It is much bigger than Guanajuato and I had only been there to pick up my host brother and get my visa.  Neither of us had class the next day so we decided to make Tuesday our day to go to Leon!!

Aztec dancer in the Miner’s Day Parade.

Miners carrying a saint float in the Parade.

Rappelling off of the Bufa again turned out to be so much fun.  Instead of meeting the rest of the group, I took a different route to get to the mountain with Ashley and my neighbor Suzanne.  From where we live, it was much easier to walk our own way instead of meeting the group in the centro.  It involved more walking and stairs and I did not want to be any part of that.  We met the rest of the group of about seven and headed up the mini-mountain.  On the way up, we encountered a big group of cattle.  It was a little scary walking beside them on the edge of a big drop off.  I don’t know if cattle kick very often but I didn’t want to be the one to find out.  We got to the top and each of us was allowed to rappel once.   Ashley and I decided to rappel upside down again and try to go a little faster than before.  Our attempt was a success and we started going relatively fast toward the ground for a little while.  I even let go of the rope completely for a couple seconds and let my body weight pull me down.  It was a little scary but I didn’t know when I would get to rappel again.  I stopped a little ways from the ground because I kept spinning in the air.  There was only one person on the ground holding two ropes (not safe!) so he didn’t have a good grip on my rope.  This also caused me to hit my shoulder on a rock when my rope swung close to Ashley’s.  Oh well… I survived and had fun.

            We all walked down the mini-mountain by about 11 am.  I got a coke with Ashley and sat for a little while at the Pipila Monument.  That evening I met Suzanne and Ashley at the Plaza de la Paz.  We wanted to see a ballet show that evening in the Teatro Principal.  When we met at the Plaza de la Paz, a parade was just about to start.  Almost every evening in the month of May there is a parade celebrating a certain group of people.  That day they were honoring the taxi drivers of the city.  It was cute seeing statues of saints and virgins on top of taxis.  The drivers also threw candy out to the children on the streets.  The bells of the Basilica were going crazy.  It was like a fair or carnival atmosphere almost.  Most of the saints also had a little drum group that followed behind it.  It was so loud on the Plaza that I could hardly hear myself talk!  Other days of the month celebrate miners, students, teachers, mothers, and grandparents.  One evening when my boyfriend was here, we stumbled upon a huge parade celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the coronation of Our Lady of Guanajuato.  It is a huge statue of a virgin on a solid silver base. 

            We still went to the ballet show.  We walked up to the balcony just as the curtain was opening.  The setting for the show was a café in Paris.  It thought it was really nicely done.  There were all ranges of talent, from beginners to extremely advanced dancers.  I was surprised that there were not that many people at the show.  I enjoyed it though.

            After the ballet, we went to Café Atrio to sit and get another coke.  We sat there for a bit before the lady, Jennifer, who had been filming the promotional DVD came up to us.  It was her last night and so she was filming last little bits about the city and wanted to walk around.  She said that the room she was staying in did not have hot water the whole time she was there.  It was also a four star hotel so she didn’t know what the problem was.  I am glad that I did not choose that specific hotel for my parents because it is right off of the Jardin Union and it is extremely noisy, not to mention overpriced. 

            Sunday was spent walking around a park called Embajadoras to look for cheap DVDs.  The park also had tons of little tents that sell second-hand clothes and knock-off Abercrombie or Hollister clothing.  There are makeup stands, shoe stands, and food stands too.  From there, Ashley and I went to the Mercado to look for souvenirs to bring home for our family and friends.  She is leaving this Friday and so she needs to buy all her gifts a couple weeks before I do.  It is so sad seeing people leave and return to the United States because I may never see them again!!  Anyway, later in the day I bought a soccer jersey of the Aguilas (Eagles) team.  I have heard they are not very good but I liked the colors so I bought it.  The rest of the day was spent finishing my fifty-page final in my grammar class.  I am excited, though, because I only have about a week and a half left of class and then a week to just relax here! Then summer in America!

Me goofing around.

Taxis in the parade.

Cute little drummers.

I am just about done with school now!!! I have two more classes the next two Thursdays in nearby Valenciana.  I have spent this week trying to wrap up assignments for classes and organize my class materials to give back to my university.   I am going to admit that it has been kind of a hassle trying to make sure I will receive credit from my university.  I have to keep all my notes, my tests, my essays, and my presentation materials.  Since this program isn’t through my university, they do not pre-approve any classes.  I understand where they are coming from but I feel like I should be spending my time enjoying myself and learning about the culture and schools in Mexico rather than worrying if I have done enough work in the class to receive credit for it.  Oh well, I have two free weeks so I will be spending my time doing that.  I also would like to go to Leon.  The big city is only about a half hour away but I have only been there twice: once to get my visa and the other to pick up my host brother.  I have not walked around the touristy parts of it and there is supposed to be a three-story shoe mall there.  Shopping!

            On Thursday night a big group of study abroad students went out to dinner together.  We wanted to spend time together because one of my good friends here, Ashley, was leaving the next morning.  We ate out at a little chicken restaurant none of us had been to and enjoyed it.  Every day at the entrance there is an open oven cooking about twenty chickens.  I am glad I finally got a chance to go in because it was good and cheap food.  From there we spent the rest of the night walking around.  We were going to see the new Indiana Jones movie, dubbed in Spanish, but we missed the last showing.  This new movie theater opened up right next door to the big University building so we are going to go see it there instead of at the mall.  I hope they are successful.  My host brother told me that they shut down for a couple years because it is hard to get people to pay to see a movie when they can buy it for the same price.  I think it only costs about $1.90 to see a movie here.  The movie theater I go to in Indiana cost $9.50 to go see a movie.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it costs $10 when I get back!! I think I am going to have reverse culture shock when I go back and have to pay more for things that are really cheap here.  I am really looking forward to driving my car when I get back but I am not looking forward to paying for the gas.  That is just ridiculous: $4 a gallon!! I’ll probably cry the first time I fill up my tank!

            Sorry, I’m going off on a tangent.  After walking around, some of the students said goodbye to her then.  I walked Ashley up to her house with two other students and we talked for awhile.  They left at about 2 am.  I stayed and talked her for about another hour or so.  Just as I was leaving, this huge scorpion comes running toward us on the floor.  We both screamed and Ashley went upstairs to get a shoe to squish it with.  I walked back at about 3:15 in the morning (another one of my not-so-good decisions).  I walked with my cell phone in one hand and my pepper spray in the other.  I walked like a mad woman back to my house on the other side of the valley.  I was ready for battle!

            That next evening, our study abroad group, International Studies Abroad, put on a little going away party for us at this lady’s house.  All of the students came with their host families.  A little five-man band came and sang for a little bit.  It is known as “banda” music.  When you think of typical Mexican music, that is what they were playing.  Some students danced to the music and some just sat and talked to people.  Everyone had enchiladas and then chocolate cake for dessert.  My host family left soon after because my host brother wanted to see a movie. 

            The group of students and I went to a wine café for a little while after the party.  From there, we walked to a karaoke bar called Capitolio Light.  We sat down and a couple of the girls started looking at songs.  I didn’t know what songs they had picked until I saw in big letters on the TV screen, “It’s gonna be me” by N’sync.  I started cracking up.  I hope we didn’t annoy too many people because all of us were singing along.  I loved that song when I was younger.  Oh I won’t lie, I still think it’s a good song!  I went home soon after because I was really tired. 

            Today I went outside to tan on the roof of my neighbor and friend Suzanne’s roof. Later this evening I think I might go see Indiana Jones. Then, tomorrow morning two new girls are coming to live in the house for a month.  I am going to move my stuff to the room where my housemate is living.  He is moving out tomorrow morning so I am going to move to his room so I can still have my own space for the last two weeks.  My room has a bunk bed so the two girls are going to stay in my room.  My housemate said that he has only seen two scorpions in his room all semester.  That is good news for me.  I’ve seen about eight in my room and I am sick of them! They scare me half to death when I see them! Update: Since I wrote this article this afternoon, another baby scorpion appeared.  I am now up to nine! My scorpion nightmare is almost over though….I hope!

There has not really been anything earth-shattering going on here in Guanajuato since I got back from my mini-trip to Guadalajara.  I have been finishing up my work for my classes.  I am done with half of them; I just have two more to go!  I am jealous that college students in the U.S. are already out of school.  I only have three weeks left to go though.  The time has gone by so fast.  I feel like just a week ago I was arriving here scared out of my mind! I knew no one and hardly could speak the language.  I know so many people now and it will be really sad to see all of us go our separate ways.  One of the study abroad students already went back to America about a month early because of continuing stomach problems.  It’s so sad that after we leave here, there is a good chance that we may never see most of these people ever again.  Everyone formed friendships extremely fast because we all had a common interest in Spanish and all of us were scared in the beginning, not knowing what to expect.  Because of that, deep relationships are formed in a very short time and it is weird to think that that is just going to come to an abrupt end. 

            I’m not going to focus on that, though.  I’m going to focus on happy things.  Oh, my boyfriend, Wes, came to visit me for a week!  He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to when I talked with him about it in the beginning of the semester.  He graduated from Indiana University a couple weeks ago and his graduation present was a trip to see me.  It was very odd to see him after four months of only talking to him on Skype.  I didn’t really know how to act around him because it was like he was a stranger, but not.  I spent the week taking him around the city and to the neighboring city of San Miguel de Allende.  I basically was Miss Guanajuato Tour Guide a third time, showing people my stomping ground.  Speaking of going to San Miguel, I have a funny little story I thought I would share with y’all.  Wes and I made it to the bus station to go to San Miguel and after receiving our complementary snack and beverage, we got on the bus.  When we got on, there were people in the seats we were assigned to for some reason.  We asked the man taking tickets what to do and he said just to find any other open seat on the bus.  I never actually figured out why we were doing that because he spoke too fast for me to understand! Anyway, we decided to sit just behind where our seats were and within three minutes a group of two American couples got on the bus.  Just like I did to the other people, they said to me, “I think you’re in our seats.”  I explained the situations with our seats and then her claws came out! She told me, “Well I’m sorry but we want the seats we paid for (and might I add, in a very rude manner).” She started arguing with me and was adamantly demanding her specific seats.  I told her to relax and that she didn’t have to be rude about it.  I decided to give up and fight and told Wes to move to another seat.  I wouldn’t have been as frustrated with this shining example of Ugly Americanism if it wasn’t for the fact that THE BACK HALF OF THE BUS WAS COMPLETELY EMPTY!  Whatever happened to “go with the flow”?  You are in Mexico for Pete’s sake!   The whole way to San Miguel I was fuming and I thought of so many good comebacks that I should have said.  Wes and I held our tongues and didn’t say anything else to them.  I will just say now what I wanted to say then: It is really sad when a couple of 21-year-olds act more mature than 70-year-olds (they actually were probably in their sixties but I wanted to insult them)! (Grandma, Grandpa, or MeeMaw: if any of you are reading this, you are the exception and I think you all look very youthful, not a day over 65!)   I do believe they got their comeuppance though.  I took a little cat nap but Wes told me that a lady, across the aisle from where we would have sat, threw up in her seat.  He saw her walking to the bathroom with vomit all over her clothes! That just made me laugh, God has a great sense of humor!

            Wes left a couple days ago and I am getting ready to go up to the Bufa tomorrow.  The Bufa is where the ISA group and I rappelled off of earlier this semester.  There is a lady from California here making a promotional DVD for the whole International Studies Abroad company and another DVD specifically for Guanajuato, Mexico.  So if in the future you consider studying abroad with ISA, you might see me in a DVD!  I really think I am getting famous being here in Mexico.  First, I am an actress in the movie “El Estudiante” (ok, only an extra…. Still fame worthy) and now this! I am swiftly moving my way up to an Oscar!

Wes and I at the Balnearios.

For our last whole day, we decided we would keep it open and just walk around and shop all day. We slept in and finally got ready at about 11:45 am. It felt wonderful! I did wake up early, though, to try and call my boyfriend because he was graduating that day. I didn’t get through to him but I ended up talking to his mom for a little while. I told her to tell him congratulations. I would not regret coming to Mexico for anything but it is sad that you miss out on big events back home. That is a tradeoff that is not fun but is necessary to think about when considering to study abroad.

Anyway, after all of us got ready and ate breakfast, I suggested going to a town just outside of Guadalajara, called Tonala, that was supposed to have cheap glasses for sale. Some of study abroad friends travelled there earlier this semester and said they found glasses for 7.5 pesos (75 cents) each. My mom’s birthday is May 5 and I knew that she had been looking at glasses when she visited me about a month and a half ago. The glasses here in Guanajuato are about $2-$3 so she didn’t want to spend the money or the effort to bring them back to the United States. We headed to Tonala in hopes of finding glasses.

To get there, my Mexico travel book told us to take one of two buses. We found one bus and sat in the last row. We were on there for about a half hour before the driver told us when we should get off. That was probably the bumpiest ride I have ever been on in my life, even compared to riding up to Cristo Rey on cobblestone streets. My butt came out of my seat at least twice during that trip. It was also one of the hottest bus rides I have had in Mexico. There were hardly any windows and the bus was almost full of people.

We were dropped off at a crowded intersection and we had no clue where we were. I knew we were in Tonala but that was about it. I saw tons of stores to our left so we just headed in that direction and hoped to find my beloved glasses. As we started walking by the stores, we were pleasantly surprised. The city didn’t look like it would be that nice but most of the stores had really good quality furniture, drinking glasses, or jewelry. We made our way to the main square of the city where we all rested on a bench for about a half hour and ate lunch. Emily, Whitney, and I snaked our way back to the main street and set off to buy our glasses. After looking at several stores, we found one that had the cheapest glasses and biggest selection. I ended up buying sixteen glasses; eight for my mom and eight for Ashley back in Guanajuato. They gave me a box to carry all of them in. I am so happy that I found out about Tonala! It is just a little city on the outskirts of Guadalajara but it had so many nice stores to look through… like a diamond in the rough!

After making out way back to our hotel, all of us decided we wanted to have an American night. At about 6 pm we took a taxi and headed back to the Centro Magno where we had gone a couple days before. When we got there, we looked through the tons of movies that were showing and decided to see “Quiero Robarme a la Novia” or in English, “Maid of Honor”. It was the recent movie with Patrick Dempsey, although I don’t know how recent because most movies come to Mexico about a month or two later. We got Starbuck’s while we waited and then went to see the movie. I don’t know why but for some reason, in the beginning of semester here if I would see a movie at a theater, I would always feel a little homesick afterward. Most of the movies shown are in English with Spanish subtitles so it felt like I was just watching the movie in America… that was until I left the movie theater and realized I was still in Mexico.

The next morning we all slept in and were finally ready around 12 pm. We left our suitcases at the hotel and went in search of a little café to eat breakfast/lunch. We soon found a little café that looked cute. I ordered a coke and toast. When the toast came out, it was not warm at all and it was completely hard. In Mexico you can buy pretoasted bread that is hard the whole way through. I only had a couple bites because I felt like I was eating stale bread. That kind of bummed me out, I was hungry! I brought fruit bars with me so I just ate one of those instead.

Our bus back to Guanajuato left at 3:15 so we headed over to the bus station at 2 pm just to be safe. When we got to the Guadalajara on Wednesday, we bought our tickets for the ride home. We bought the most expensive bus tickets because we did not see other bus lines. We soon found out that it was because we were in one of seven buildings at the bus station but didn’t know there were that many. Well anyway, we get to the building where our bus leaves from and walk into a special waiting room for people with “ETN” bus tickets. It felt wonderful; there was air conditioning, free bathrooms, and comfortable seats. All other bus lines just use the common waiting area where you have to pay two or three pesos to go to the bathroom. We didn’t mind paying the extra five dollars for air conditioning. Then when we got on the bus, the seats were huge! There were only three seats across instead of four. The sandwich we got on the bus was also better. That ride now tops my list of best bus rides in Mexico.

We made our way back to Guanajuato safely and got on a city bus to take us back to the center of the city. It took me about 20 minutes to make my way up to my house instead of the normal 5 minutes because I had so much stuff to carry. I had a carry-on size bag, a heavy shoulder bag, a box full of sixteen glasses, and four posters rolled up. I felt like a pack mule! I did finally make it to my house after a couple luggage spills. Once home, I spent the evening working on a presentation for my conversation class the next day. It seems like my weekends always end that way!

A church in the center of Tonala.

During the next day in Guadalajara, we decided to take a tour of a city called Tequila about an hour outside of Guadalajara.  Guess what they make? ….You guessed it: Tequila! A huge group of people from different hotels met up and we all boarded two huge charter buses in the morning.  It only cost $25 for the whole day! Our first stop was a store in the middle of nowhere.  There, we got to taste 100% natural tequila, without preservatives or other artificial things.  I didn’t try any tequila because that stuff grosses me out.  In the little podunk store you could also buy bottles of tequila, shirts, and little snacks.  All I did there was take some pictures of the agave fields and get back on the bus.  Agave is the plant that tequila is made from.  It looks like a big desert cactus. 

            From there, we next went in the middle of an agave field where we were met by a man that worked in the agave fields.  He said that all of the plants are harvested by hand, using no advanced machinery.  He demonstrated how an agave plant is harvested.  After he talked to us about the plant, we got a chance to take pictures with him and with the plants.  It wasn’t the most exciting moment of my life but it wasn’t too bad.  The agave plant was surprisingly heavy.  I would not like to work in that field all day!

            From the field we drove into the actual town of Tequila to tour the Jose Cuervo distillery.  I found out that tequila can only be called tequila if it is made in this certain region of Mexico.  When we got to the distillery, it was fancier than I thought it would be.  I guess they give tours all day so there is a lot more than just the factory itself.  We watched a little introductory video before heading into the building where tequila is actually made.  Before we could go there, everyone had to put on little shower caps.  We first went to a series of ovens where the agave plants are heated for a while (I am not exactly sure how long).  From there, the plants turn very sweet.  We got to taste a piece of the agave plant after being in the oven and it truly was sweet.  Before being cooked it just tastes like a potato.  From the oven, the plants are crushed to get all of the juice out of them.  It is then distilled (I think) and fermented. Along the way, we got to taste the plant as it changed and finally turned into tequila.  There were a couple types of tequila that were kept in barrels for differing periods of time to get a little different taste.  After the tour, we went to the gift shop and I bought some cute posters.  We were given an hour or so after the tour to walk around the town and take pictures.  I bought a coke and ate my peanut butter sandwiches I had made for the day!  I’m so cheap!

            From the town, we stopped at a restaurant to eat a late lunch.  The restaurant had a very pretty view of hills in the distance and agave fields.  After about an hour at the restaurant, we made one final stop at another little store for about ten or fifteen minutes.  This time, my friends and I didn’t even get off the bus.  I know that the people in charge of the tour get a commission at the restaurants and stores they stop at and I don’t want to be any part of it.  I am just fine with my peanut butter sandwiches!  After our final stop at the random store, the bus proceeded to drop people off at their respective hotels.  It took almost another hour to get back to our hotel because we were one of the last groups of people to be let off. 

            That pretty much sums up our second full day in and around Guadalajara.  That evening we ate at McDonald’s and collapsed back at the hotel.  Maybe it’s because I don’t drink alcohol a lot that the tour didn’t interest me much.  It was nice to see somewhere new; it just wasn’t the most fun thing I have done while in Mexico.  The next day proved to my favorite day in Guadalajara… SHOPPING!

The agave and I hanging out. I look like midget!

Inside of the Jose Cuervo factory.

This past week we did not have school Thursday or Friday.  What does that mean? V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!  Since my return to the United States is getting closer and closer, I want to see as many places around Mexico as I can.  I hope to return in the future but nothing is set in stone.  Two girls, Whitney and Emily, decided to travel to Guadalajara for a couple days so I asked if I could join them.  It is the third largest city in Mexico and is located about four hours from Guanajuato.  We decided to leave this past Wednesday in the afternoon after school let out so we could spend more time in the city.  That day I packed up my stuff and went out to eat with my friend, Ashley, before my departure.  The bus was scheduled to leave at 4 pm so I started looking for a city bus to get me to the bus station at 3 pm.  I thought this would be plenty of time until no buses were coming.  It takes about fifteen minutes to get to the bus station normally but it seemed like every street in Guanajuato was in a traffic jam.  I decided to look for a taxi and still couldn’t find an open one.  It was about 3:25 and I was starting to get panicky because if there is one thing in Mexico that is on time, it is the buses (not counting city buses).  They leave precisely five minutes after the scheduled departure time.  I finally saw a taxi that had someone in it but the driver asked where I was going anyway.  The driver was on his way to the bus station so I hopped in and away I went.  It probably wasn’t my best decision getting in a cab with a strange man already in the backseat. And mom, don’t yell at me, I won’t do it again! On the way to the bus station he asked where I was going and we talked for maybe two minutes.  When I got to the bus station he helped me with my bags and then proceeded to ask me what I was doing when I got back to Guanajuato.  He wanted to hang out sometime at a bar and gave me his card to call or email him.  I never seize to be amazed by Mexican men here; they are soooo forward with girls.  As if you thought that was a little strange; as I was sitting with my friends waiting for the bus to come, he comes up to me again and gives me a “regalito”, or little gift, that he bought at the bus station.  It was a little angel candle.  It took all my strength not to break out laughing but somehow I managed to accept it with a smile and a polite “gracias”. 

            We all got on the bus just fine and made our way to Guadalajara.  From the bus station there, we took a taxi to our hotel.  The hotel was a little expensive for my taste but I didn’t say anything since I was the tagalong.  It had wireless internet, air conditioning, a beautiful lobby, and lots of little free trinkets for me to take home (shampoo, conditioner, shower cap, sewing kit, lotion, and shoe polisher).  Since we got there around 8 pm, we really only ate dinner and walked around a couple blocks that first night. 

            The next morning we got up and were ready around 10 am.  Whitney wanted to go see the Guadalajara Zoo.  I made myself two peanut butter sandwiches so I wouldn’t have to spend all my money on food.  We piled into another taxi and headed to the zoo.  It was pretty much what you would think a zoo would look like, although there were a couple interesting animals there.  There was a group of American bison in a little exhibit.  Also in the bird area, there were a couple crows in a cage.  I thought it was strange because in the United States, those animals are not normally in zoos.  The Zoo also had an absolutely gorgeous view of a huge ravine that went on for miles.  Right next to the Zoo, there was a little theme park.  None of us wanted to spend the money to go in so we decided to head back to the city and walk around in the afternoon.  We walked for probably a mile outside of the Zoo before we got into a taxi to return to the center of Guadalajara. 

            Everything was going fine in the taxi until a motorcycle cop pulled the taxi driver over.  We weren’t really scared but we were curious as to why he was pulled over.  The driver got out of the car and started talking to the cop.  When he came back to the car, the first thing he said out loud was “Mexican Corruption!”, obviously frustrated.  From what I could gather, I think that the taxi driver’s license plate had been expired eight days.  Because of that, he could get a fine from the police officer.  Well in place of getting the fine, the driver could just personally pay the cop a lesser amount.  I don’t think there really are such things as warnings by police officers in Mexico, only bribes.  After about five or ten minutes, we were on our way again and made it safely back to our hotel.    

            After resting up for a couple hours in our hotel, Emily and Whitney wanted to eat at the Hard Rock Café in Guadalajara.  It was located in a modern mall, called Centro Magno, that has a movie theater, a wannabe Victoria’s Secrets store (There were Victoria’s secret tags but it was obviously not one of their stores; they were trying to sell an actual Victoria’s Secret lotion for $70), other expensive clothing stores, and a Starbuck’s.  I held off eating dinner at Hard Rock because the food was outrageously expensive! I waited until they were done and then went to Subway to eat.  I probably saved myself $20! We went back to the hotel to watch some TV before we decided to go to bed.  We wanted to be all rested up for our second full day in Guadalajara!

Me in front of the huge ravine at the edge of the zoo.

The pretty lobby of our hotel.