I am learning...

I am learning many things about myself, about my own country, and of course about Mexico. Our itinerary has allowed us to see several very different cities, each with unique 'souls' - if cities can have souls.

Our first stop was Guadalajara, a large, sprawling megopolis reminiscent of Los Angeles. We enjoyed our stay there, but have since moved it to the bottom of our Favorite Places in Mexico list. The historical/cultural center is very pretty, with a sub-text of bustling street venders. The sounds are an almost constant buzz of cars harmonized with honking horns.

Living a bit outside of the Eugene city limits, and especially living in Oregon, I had forgotten that other places use their car horns. In Guadalajara, the horns were rarely an angry sound; it was more like the cars were talking with each other, keeping themselves safe and the whole flow moving.

The streets were pretty crowded and somewhat dirty, but shopkeepers seemed intent on doing battle with road grime, and could be seen sweeping and washing the sidewalks in front of their shops at all hours of the day. I was somewhat amazed by the amount of graffiti on the walls.

From there, we went to Guanajuato, a town about the same population as Eugene, but designed more like an old world villa (and is in fact, a very old town). Guanajuato is built into the hillsides of several ravines / canyons. The streets are steep, and wind up and around and back again. I think I would enjoy spending about 3 months there, but really think Sara would enjoy it even more; it is a town for young people.

The University of Guanajuato is home to 20,000 students, and the streets come alive around 8:00 with street musicians and performers, food venders and merchants. Outdoor cafes are everywhere.

From Guanajuato we travelled to San Miguel de Allende. There seem to be two San Miguel de Allendes - one for gringos and one for locals. We stayed at an airBnB offering that was fabulous and inexpensive - a lovely room and private bathroom with our own terrace above her house and boutique, owned by an expat New York Jew who had been there for 14 years. Jerry asked how she ended up in San Miguel de Allende, and her short answer was: "I got drunk and bought a shop."I think that should be a bumper sticker.

Since she'd been there 14 years, we wondered if we could practice our Spanish with her. Well, no, she didn't speak Spanish. But she had recently started taking Spanish classes. The unusual part of that is not that she couldn't speak Spanish after 14 years in Mexico -- the unusual part is that she was taking Spanish classes.

We found there to be a large population of American expats in SMA, who have created a mini American town in the midst of an incredibly interesting and vibrant old Mexico ciudad. The Americans don't speak Spanish, don't eat at the local restaurants, don't buy local goods, wear American style clothes, etc etc etc. Though the town is lovely, and I would enjoy the local side of life, I think the clash between the cultures would frustrate me. Not really a clash... More of a snubbing. San Miguel de Allende is on my list to visit again, but I don't think it makes my list of places I might live.

Next we travelled to Morelia. We arrived Thursday and stayed at an airBnB room until we moved in with our host family on Sunday, prior to starting our second week of language classes. The airBnB spot was amazing... A "cabin" space built above a home by our host (and home owner and engineer), the cabin had a kitchen, private bath and bedroom, and felt very much like Jerry's cabin. It even had the ladder access through a hole in the floor (but also had a door to close over the floor...).

Our host, Nacho, met us Thursday night and chatted with us for about an hour, and left us in the very capable and gracious care of his friend, Margarita; he left early Friday to go to the beach for the weekend with his sister. We'll meet up with him again Thursday night for a beer, and will probably stay with him again early next week.

Morelia is a fabulous city. Large and clean and old, with several museums, ancient catholic churches and convents, and two colleges built in the mid-1500s (one still a public college, the other a library filled with ancient books). There are many turistos, but few gringos. The local people are friendly and patient with my broken Spanish. I could live here.

Now we are in Patzcuaro. A beautiful Pueblo 40 miles from Morelia, it has an old-world charm. Cobblestone streets, white-washed stone buildings, tile roofs, the town feels like a postcard of old Italy. We only can spend two days here, and will need to come back. Patcuaro is the ideal central location to explore many neighboring pueblos and ancient ruins. I could REALLY live here.

Tonight we return to Morelia, and I'll catch a bus early tomorrow to Guadalajara, and then fly home. On July 5th, a month seemed almost too long. Today, I realize it wasn't nearly long enough

Differences...

A few random observations:

1) We've noticed that there are very few obese people in the towns we've visited. Possibly the diet is more healthy than the typical American diet. But I think it is probably because the bathroom stalls in public places are tiny... If you weigh more than about 180 pounds, you won't fit.

2) The plumbing in Mexico is much like the plumbing at my Eugene house -- it can't handle lots of paper. Translation: you aren't supposed to put ANY paper in the toilets. None. All toilets have a little trash can next to them, and your toilet paper goes in the trash can. That's a hard habit to break...A query: if you have to put the paper in the rubbish can anyway, couldn't we please have thicker, softer paper?

3) The water from the taps is not for consumption. This includes rinsing your toothbrush in the tap water. Another hard habit to break, but if you forget and get sick, you are more likely to remember... I forgot and didn't get sick. Jerry didn't and did.

4) The sidewalks are barely wide enough for two, but somehow accommodate four abreast, another reason Mexicans are thin...

Me gusta de viejes en Mexico...

Y Jerry, tambien...

We've been here a week, and I have a few photos to share (with commentary). However, I haven't been able to figure out how to get the photos on to this site. I can get them from the iPhone to the iPad easily enough but havent had the hour or so of uninterrupted time I'll need to puzzle out the next steps. So, for now, I'll upload them to google+, as albums. If you are a member of google+, I'll add you to my circle so you can see the photos. Otherwise, I may have to wait until I return before I can link the photos to the blog.

First, we took a late flight out of Portland on the Fourth; I had hopes of seeing fireworks below me as we flew into San Fransisco. Alas, we were about 45 minutes too early. I DID get some great shots of the fog pouring over the hills.

Customs in Mexico was fast and easy, though we were asked to throw away the largish bag of broccoli I had brought for snacking. Jerry was not sad to lose the broccoli.

We stayed for three days in a lovely room I had found on AirBnB. The room was on Calle Donato Gurrera, a short 10 minute walk to the cultural center of Guadalajara, with legislative, justice, and executive branches of the State of Jalisco, as well as ancient cathedrals, the ballet and philharmonic halls, museums, and the Mercado (a 2 mile long plaza filled with merchants and venders and street performers).

On Sunday, we moved from our room on Donato Gurrera to the home of our host family, on the west side of town in Zona Rosa. Señor and Señora Cassilas and their 20-something son Luis Enrique were most gracious and lovely. Luis Enrique spoke English quite well, which helped Jerry and me the first few days, when our own Spanish skills were pretty terrible.

After a few days of classes, plus our earlier self-study, and we were able to communicate -sort of- with señora Casillas. Señora Casillas traveled with us the first day to school, so we would know where the bus stops were, etc. It turned out that the school was just about 4 blocks from our first airBnB room.

On Wednesday, our Spanish class joined a group of Tapatios (people from Guadalajara) who were studying English, and we toured the downtown cultural center. I was paired with two lovely young ladies (16 and 18)... They practiced their English and I practiced my Spanish. Their English was MUCH better than my Spanish, but they were very kind.

When not in class, Jerry and I explored the area around our host family's casa. Our airBnB room was in a part of town where the streets are narrow, and every home greets passers-by with a solid wall. Most walls had graffiti. My first assumption was that we were in a very poor part of town.

Until I was able to peek into an open gate. Behind the stark walls are little gardens, homes with atriums, tiled patios, and well maintained homes. In Zona Rosa, where the Casillas family live, the gardens were larger, the walls less foreboding, and most Homes had a little green space between their wall and the sidewalk.

More later...