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.