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...