photography

Lake Chapala

Hotsprings in Ajijic.
Bryan and I with Vicente Fernandez his idol .

Agave plant before they're roasted and fermented. Called"Pina" or pineapple because of the resemblance.
Barrels o' tequila
Jose Cuervo

Church in Zapopan
Corn Husk Nativity....so cool!
Christmas ornaments at little stands in Guadalajara
Outdoor Market in Tonala

Not the last goodbye.

So, the semester has finally come to an end. Since August I have been living in Guanajuato, Gto Mexico and tomorrow I will be back in Arizona. You never really know how much you will miss something until you can't have it. Take fresh vegetables for example something I have an abundance of in the States, yeah, not so readily available in Mexico. Boy is my digestive system in for a treat when I get back. My family is yet another great example of this sentiment. Never have I ever been away from my family for such a long period of time, and now more than ever, missing Halloween and Thanksgiving, I want to be back at home celebrating this holiday season with my family.

School ended about a week ago, since then I have been enjoying my last couple days left in Mexico. Bryan, Ariana, and I went to Guadalajara for a couple of days to get to know a neighboring state. Guadalajara was pretty much the complete opposite of Guanajuato. With skyscrapers, traffic lights, and lines of people waiting for public transportation a mile long, Guadalajara reminded me a bit of New York City. The first thing we did when we got to Guadalajara was to go to a city called Tonala, where they have a "tiangis" or outdoor market of artesanias which is forty blocks long. It was insane....just imagine. It was Sunday, everyone and their brother's brother was at the market for the afternoon comida and shopping. We ate there of course, we had some delicious tortas, a mexican sandwich, one of my favorite foods here. After a crazy afternoon we headed back into the centro where we took a horse and buggy ride around the city right before the sun went down. The next day we took a tour to Zapopan and Tequila. In Zapopan there is an immaculate church, one of the well known churches in Guadalajara. Outside the church there was this life size nativity scene made completely out of corn husks. It was absolutely incredible, I only wish i could have been a part of that big arts and crafts project. After Zapopan, we went to Tequila where we toured the Jose Cuervo factory. It's really interesting how they make tequila out of the agave plants, it is a very long process and kind of smelly. We got to try tequila at all different ages, young, white, rested, aged, all sorts. I could never get an entire tase down, the smell of the cooking agave and the strong tequila usually left me just getting enough on my lips to taste the tequila. yuck. After our Tequila experience, the next day we planned a trip with the same tour guide to visit Ajijic and Chapala. Ajijic is a retirement town, with hot springs n all. In Ajijic I probably saw the most gringos than I have in four months, but it was an undeniably a beautiful city. Chapala is where Mexico's largest natural lake is located, there was a large peir and little shops. The lake was beautiful it almost looked like the ocean. Well that was pretty much the extent of our exploration. We had a great time, but as always we were happy to return to our home away from home, Guanajuato.

I must say I have grown pretty fond of this city. Who wouldn't fall in love with the horizon filled with colorful casitas and a beautiful blue sky? But I do feel like I am ready to go home, I miss Arizona and everyone I left behind there. I am ready. I have learned. I have lived. I have accomplished, and I am ready to return to my favorite place in the world, my home.

Pictures on next post, sorry folks, internet was being rowdy.

Michoacan trip & A visit from Mom and Grandma

Hola y buenos dias! Man is the weather bi-polar around here. It was warm about four days ago but it has turned into a chilly winter bluster. Oh well, that's what moccasins are for. Well quite a bit has happened since my last post. I have been to Morelia, Janitizio, and Patzcuaro and I have played tour guide Barbie for my Mom and Grandma. It is fun knowing enough about a city to give a legit tour :) The first couple pictures at the top are from the visit of my Mom and Grandma, and the last few are from my trip to Michoacan.

In Michoacan, we stared off in the city of Morelia where we also spent the night. We first went to the "Mirador", or the look out. (That is the picture with just me and the city behind!) Then we went to this awesome buffet where they served food native to the area of Michoacan. We had posole ( I think that's how you spell it ?), sopes, homemade corn tortillas, mole, and rice pudding. Yummy!!!! Then we went on a tour around the city, a little trolley thing, and we listened to the guide give us a little history of the city, in Spanish of course, while we gazed out the windows at the bypassing landmarks. One of my favorite stops on the tour was a church, I swear to goodness if Barbie was a real person, would have definitely gotten married to Ken there. It was just covered in gold leaf and ornate flowers, and....of course it was pink. I loved it, but I just don't think I would be able to pay attention to a sermon in this place because I would be too distracted. The second day of our outing, we went to Patzuaro where there is a large natural lake and in the middle of that lake there is an island called Janitizio. It was about a 45 minute boat ride to the island and the same back. But, it was hard to be bored with the mariachis on board, not to mention the guys with snacks like sugared nuts and homemade ice cream. The island was phenomenal, just packed with color and culture and life. On top of the island was a statue of Jesus Christ, similar to the on we have here called Pipila. And boy did I get some good shopping done on that island! After our boat adventure we got to explore the city of Patzcuaro, which I immediately fell in love with. I think I'm just a sucker for big squares with giant trees.

I was so excited to see my Mom and Grandma. Bryan and I waited for them anxiously at the airport with a "Bienvenidos a Guanajuato" sign. While here, I tried to pack in as much adventure as possible. We saw Pipila, a mine in Valenciana, the mercado Hildago, Embajadores, and much more. We had a wonderful time. Well...my computer is losing life and I have to go eat my comida. Pues, hasta luego for now and I will post again soon!

Mas Fotos!

Truco o dulce...Trick or treat!

Greek Princess, Fidel, & Belly Dancers


Pumpkins!



Two Belly Dancers and a Greek Goddess

Hello Everyone! Wow, sorry it has been entirely too long since I have last written. October finally has come to its end and so did Cervantino, thank goodness! During the last show of Cervantino, Cafe Tacuba, the line started at 7am, just imagine what it looked like that afternoon. Needless to say, I did not attend that event. This last week has been so much fun. We had a day of the dead celebration at school and I was involved, of course. I represented the south, the air. During the ceremony, four CLU students participated including me and my boyfriend, Bryan. Mayra, in the crazy green outfit represneted fire, Ariana in the blue represented water, and Bryan represented earth. It was an awesome expereince. We also made Day of the Dead projects for our literature class, which were displayed all over the courtyard outside. After the ceremony, we all had tamales and pan de muerto. For Halloween, we carved pumpkins!! I bought the American candy and the other girls pitched in for the pumpkins and we went to town. The only thing we were missing was the apple cider. Then, we all got ready and went to a Halloween party. I was loads of fun and everyone went all out. I was a greek princess, Mayra and Ari were belly dancers and Bryan was Fidel Castro. Bryan even won a costume contest! I still have more photos to upload and put up on my blog, because yesterday was the actual Day of the Dead, and I have some awesome pics of altars I saw around town.

Well, all is well here in Gto! Next weekend we have a trip to Michoacan, and my Grandma and Mom come in less than two weeks!! Yay! I'll post more pics later :)

Cervantino Time!

Hello again, just wanted to let you know that on the post previous to this one, the Campeche picture didn't end up fitting BUT if you click on it, it will bring up another window with the full picture :) enjoy. Here is another video as well:

Hey peeps. Oh my goodness has it been a crazy early October. So sorry I am so horrible at getting these posts up :( Well, well, well, what do you know, it's Cervantino!! Okay for those of you that do not know what Cervantino is, I shall explain. Cervantino is a month long arts festival which Guanajuato has been putting on now for 36 years. Every year a different state is invited to perform during the month of October, this year the state of Campeche, a state located in Spain, was invited to Cervantino. During the Cervantino experience, Guanajuato is filled with tourists. The past two weeks I've seen more white people than I have in a long time. The plazas are filled with real maniqueins, dressed as silver cowboys, greek gods, and angels, which move to a new position for ten pesos and live performers. So far I have seen some pretty amazing events at the Alhondiga, the outdoor venue which is absolutely free. The first event I attended was the Ballet Folklorico from Campeche. It was beautiful, they incorporated live music, singing and dancing to tell a little story. Not only was the dancing spectacular, so were the costumes. The picture above is of a fan that the state of Campeche was giving out for free (yay free souvenirs!!).

The second show I attended was the Aluminum Show, it was crazy and I can't even begin to explain what it was like. It was sort of like Blue man Group on.... aluminum pills? It made me laugh really hard, I'll put up a video so everyone can see what I'm talking about. Then, I went to see the Harlem Jubilee Gospel Choir at the church in Valenciana, it was absolutely gorgeous!! And the music was outstanding. There were a set of Duke Ellington songs which were absolutely beautiful, they were in this jazz swing that gave me goosebumps. Recently, I went to see Dj's makossa and megablast, it was interesting to say the least, but for the most part I enjoyed it. This Friday I plan on attending the Pancho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band performance, can't wait. Then next week I have tickets to the Pilobolus Dance Theatre at the Auditorio del Estado. This month is flying by, and I have a feeling it's only going to get faster. A week from tomorrow our Spanish professors from Cal Lutheran are coming to visit us, "to see if we're going to class during Cervantino". I am looking forward to seeing them and telling them all about our experience thus far. Well thats all for now folks, I'll catch you up again soon :)