beginnings

I am finally sitting down to write, after four days and three nights in Guanajuato. I don’t have internet in my house, so right now I am writing this on microsoft word and will try to find a internet café that has wireless so I can post this on the blog. It has been four days of endless activity, and in many ways it already feels like home. I’ll run through what’s happened so far:

After a lot of nerves and panic, I arrived with ease at the airport in Leon, a city about thirty minutes from Guanajuato. The airport was tiny and it was very easy to find the man waiting for me and three other students. His name is Eduardo, but everyone calls him Lalo, and he is the husband of the director of the program, Karen. Lalo came to get all thirteen of the students on the program (three boys, ten girls) in different spurts, so when I saw him I was the first of the afternoon pickup. This worked out really nicely because I was able to practice my Spanish with him for about twenty minutes before the others arrived. Once they came, we took a taxi to a hotel in Guanajuato. Some of the other students were already there, so we walked around a little. Later that night we had dinner and met Karen, which was nice but everyone was so exhausted we could barely converse. We all ended up ordering the exact same dish, enchiladas Guanajuato style, which I’m sure amused the waiter. The next day, the group went to Las Palomas, a gorgeous nature preserve high up above the city. We had orientation there and two amazing meals cooked by the men who work there.

Later that day, the group had dinner with our new families. My mom was the only one who came for me, which was very nice because I didn’t get too overwhelmed and our conversation was nice, informative, and intimate. Her name is Veneranda but everyone calls her Gorda. Her husband’s name is Heriberto, but he’s called Heri or Viejo. They have been married around thirty-five years and seem quite happy, working alongside each other in their stores. They own three stores in Guanajuato, two jewelry and watch stores and one with knick knacks (I haven’t been there yet so I’m not positive) and such. They have two daughters, one also named Veneranda and the other, Erica. Veneranda’s nick name is vieja (meaning old woman). Erica has one son and is pregnant with a girl, who she will have while I’m here. Good thing I got lots of practice in with Indie before I left. La Gorda and Heri also had a son, but he was killed in an accident around six or seven years ago. My mother has spoken about his death many times, including shedding a few tears at our first meal together. They have pictures of him all over the house and in the store. It’s difficult because she hasn’t given me many details and I don’t want to pry into a history she isn’t prepared to tell. As expected, it is clear his death has been intensely difficult and painful for their family.

My house here is really nice and big. I have my own room, a small room but as much as I need. I have a beautiful view of the city from a window that covers the entire wall next to my bed. Best of all, there are two bathrooms. They even have TV with more channels then I’ve got at home. Right now I’m watching Dirty Dancing 2 in Spanish.

Yesterday, I went with my group on a seven hour tour/trip around Guanajuato and the areas surrounding it. The tour was absolutely amazing and I couldn’t resist taking tons of photos. I’m going to create a second blog with a link to all my photos, so definitely check them out. The first place we went on the tour was this gorgeous garden type place. It was built alongside a river a long long time ago and various rooms are built in different styles, from English to French. The gardens were so peaceful and the tour guide reminded me that I can come whenever I want and spend the whole day there just sitting in the sun. I’m sure I’ll take him up on the offer. It’s important to remember that during the days, it’s about 70 degrees and perfectly sunny here, so all the greatness is amplified times a million. After that, we went to El Pipila (read about him here). The statue looks out over the entire city of Guanajuato, and is where most of the pictures (including the ones I posted before I left) of the city are taken.

After this, we went to La Valenciana, a town which used to be a huge silver producer. At a certain point, they produced 30% of the world’s silver. The money they made from these mines funded all the construction of the beautiful Guanajuato buildings. And of course, they built a church to thank God for the silver and to remain on his good side. We actually got to go inside a mine, wearing hard hats and all. It was absolutely amazing. When the African slaves worked inside the mine, they would swallow the small rocks of silver that they found, to excrete later. However, once the Spaniards realized this, they forced the slaves to swallow some type of chemical to make them have diarrhea (in front of their masters) once they ended their work, and the Spaniards would collect whatever had been taken. In addition, if one of the slaves got sick, the Spaniards would burn all of the slaves, for fear of the illness catching. On the lighter side, the guide told us a lot about silver itself. First, before silver is cut, it looks black. Secondly, if you rub real silver against a piece of cloth of your hard, it should turn a blackish color. He took my big turquoise ring and demonstrated this in front of all of us, declaring that if it wasn’t silver, we would all find out soon enough. After several hard rubs, he had a visible dark line down his palm.

Next we went to Cristo Rey, a huge huge statue of Christ. The statue is located exactly in the middle of Mexico, and people embarking on their trips north often trek to Cristo Rey to pray for luck and safety in their passing. This was the last leg of our trip, and we finally made it back to the center of town around five. I went out with the group for a beer and then walked a block away to one of my parents’ stores. I’m so glad they own these stores because it provides me with an entirely unique experience. I walked around town and hung out in the store for several hours with my mom, talking about things and meeting new people, including the priest. Guanajuato is truly gorgeous. The streets twist and turn, and it’s never clear exactly where you are going. Everyone says - if you’re lost, just walk down. You will always end up in the center of town, because everything is built upwards on the mountains, surrounding the center. Everything is so colorful, and most houses are painted in at least two bright colors. There are no traffic lights in town and it is never clear if cars can actually make it through the narrow alleyways. There are many places that have marks on the walls where buses have hit the corners of buildings. There are cafés everywhere, people selling food on the street, flowers for sale, many things you see throughout Latin America. But of all the places I’ve been, there is something special about Guanajuato. Everything is so full of life, and yet so old and with such a great history. Because Guanajuato was more or less the starting place of the Mexican Revolution (when the priest Miguel Hidalgo marched to Guanajuato) it is not surprising that people here have tremendous pride and love their history.

Yesterday (Sunday, I am finally at a café) was a more relaxed day with my family. We woke up and had lunch together and hung out around the house a little. Then, we went to the cemetery to bring flowers to the grave of Heri’s mother, grandmother, and the daughter of my parent’s son who died while still in the womb. It was very sad and brought forth a lot of thoughts about all the deaths my group of friends have experienced in the last few years. After that, we went to the house of my older sister and hung out with a lot of people and just ate ate ate. One of the most difficult things so far for me has been the timing of my meals. It seems as though whenever I am hungry there is no food around and whenever I am full, there’s too much. For example, after I got home from the bar the other night, I thought I was going to throw up I was so hungry. The next morning I waited waited waited for my family to eat. Later, we went to the mall and bought some Chinese food. But instead of eating it, we put it in the car and went to my sister’s for the barbeque. I ate a ton there, and right when we left, my mom said, ok now you can eat your Chinese. She was shocked when I told her there was no way I could fit more in my stomach. I think slowly I will get the hang out it and learn that I really have to eat a lot more at meals because there won’t be snacks to get me through the day.

Today was my first day of class, but was really more of an introduction to everything. All of my classes will be in Spanish except for one. So far everything seems great. I have my first class at 9 and get out at 1:45. I am in the liberal arts program, which I think is the more advanced program, based on my Spanish level. Everyday my family eats lunch together at 3:30. So I will have time after class to stay in the center of town and explore or use the internet before making the long trek uphill to my house.

I’m sure there is a lot more to say, but right now I’ve lost all thoughts except the emotion of excitement. It looks as this is going to be an amazing semester and the perfect place for me at this point in my life.

Here's one photo, but for lots more, click here: