Dolores Hidalgo

Dec 21 - Dolores Hidalgo --- Today, we took a bus to the town where the flame of Mexico’s Independence was ignited almost 200 years ago. Dolores Hidalgo is where Miguel Hidalgo started the independence movement from Spanish rule. After 10 years of war he was finally decapitated and his head hung with 3 others in Guanajuato (We’ll get to that museum hopefully this week). There are huge digital clocks in the church square in Dolores Hidalgo and also in Guanajuato counting down the days, minutes, and seconds to Sept 16, 2010 for Mexico’s Bicentennial.

Dolores Hidalgo is also the resting place of Mexico’s equivalent to Elvis. The king here is named Jose Alfredo Jimenez and is famous for his many hit songs and style of music sung in the 50’s but still very popular today. We toured his home, now a very well run museum (no Graceland, by any means) and enjoyed learning about his life and what he meant to this country. Earlier this week, I bought a book of at least 100 of his songs hoping to learn a few. I’m also going to take a music class this week.

Also popular in Dolores Hidalgo are the ceramics of all shapes and sizes, AND the ice cream vendors selling a variety of flavors: avacado, seafood, squid, tequila, and beer top the list above your usual fruit and cream flavors. Roger of course chose the beer flavored and I settled for a craved café ice cream cone.

Mexico is a feast of flavors. Someone is selling food everywhere. Sometimes a walk through the local markets puts me in sensory overload. There are so many people and I often wonder what it would be like to follow someone home and see where and how they live. Today’s eye opener was a group of teenage boys break dancing in the zocolo. If I can, I’ll post a video of their talent. Circue de Soleil material. We were very impressed!

On the bus, to and from Dolores, as I saw the small ranchitos and tiny pueblos pass by, I couln't help but wonder "What if the British colonized the land that is now Mexico and the Spanish had colonized the northern land that is currently the US?" How would our lives be different? What native customs would survive and how would each society assimilate the landscape into their lifestyle? Would Americans be Mestizo and speaking Spanish and Mexicans would be white and speaking English?

Now, we’re gearing up for week 3 of school, including Navidad with our family. Dinner on Christmas Eve is at midnight! A week from now we’ll be at the beach, but we’re trying to stay in the moment and focus on our language acquistion. After 2 weeks we’re making some progress.

First Communion and Presentation

Dec 20 – This was a day to remember. After our 2nd week of school, our brains are definitely on overload. We know this strain has manifested itself physically because I have noticeably more gray hair and Roger’s beer consumption doesn’t even make the charts. We planned a study break for Saturday morning with friends from school, a lovely hike up to a rock formation overlooking the city called “La Bufa”.

At breakfast, Fatima alerted us that at 2pm that afternoon we were invited to attend the first communion of Roberto, their grandson, combined with the presentation of his little sister, Julia Sophia. She also looked straight at Roger and told him he would be singing at the reception following the religious ceremony. Well, that got our attention.

We managed to squeeze the hike in as planned and showed up to the church on time (an unnecessary attempt, as we are in Mexico and the family rolled in around 2:15). The service was very formal with about 50 friends and family members in attendance. Roger, Elaine (our new house mate from Wisconsin) and I sat in the back row where we had a pretty nice view of the whole occasion.

As my mind drifted from the priest’s words (I understood about 30% - Dios, Senior, Corazon etc…) I couldn’t help looking around at all the dressed up women and wonder which outfit I might try to wear. A word about how women dress here. When I say “tight”, think “as tight as you can possibly imagine”. Skirts, dresses, pants, and of course jeans. Words like flashy and sexy also come to mind.

Immediately following the service, we all walked up the hill to the Lions Club for the reception. This is where it got really fun. We walked into a formally decorated banquet hall, and were honored to sit at the same table as our host family. Thank goodness the table was also about 2 feet from the beverage table where a father/son duo waited on us hand and foot and I don’t know how much tequila our table consumed during the next 4 hours. Yes, as Jesus told us when we sat down, we were in for a long celebration.

The full meal deal, the drinks, the beverages and the decorations are something we could expect in the US, however… Enter the vocalista! (also named Fatima) Let the show begin! She is a paid entertainer with a microphone and back up techno team who run the music while she sings, engages the crowd and sort of MC’s the entire evening. She was HOT and she could REALLY SING! We were sitting right below the stage and often she would wink or nod to Roger and at times would come down and sing to him. Finally, she picked him out of the crowd to dance with her while she belted out some popular song.

While the adults were being entertained, all the kids were outside either playing soccer or with all the new toys that Roberto and Julia Sophia accumulated on this important occasion. The highlight of course was the breaking of the piñata! One for Roberto and another for Julia. That was really fun to watch! After each kid had handfuls of candy, they came inside to dip strawberries and marshmallows into a fountain flowing with chocolate and eat a variety of desserts. Can you say Diabetes?

We wrapped the evening up with more dancing, including some line dancing. The Achey Breaky (to the words “Pobre Corazon”) is always a good ol’ party pleaser. Parents and Godparents went around to all the tables and gave everyone gifts to remember the occasion, including us. I took a lot of pictures and hope to make a little imovie or DVD to give to the family for Christmas.

It’s often so easy to compare cultures when I attend something like this. I was so pleased to be invited, as there really isn’t anything like this in our country. There may be first communions in some churches, but in the US would there be tequila, piñatas, dancing and live entertainment? Mexico celebrates a child’s baptism, Presentation (on the 3rd birthday), first communion, and a young girl’s 15th birthday. Each one is a very big deal and is celebrated with whatever means are available for that family. We feel honored to have been included in such an occasion.

Our First Week

Saturday, Dec 13 2008

Time is flying by! That can only mean one thing… we are having a very good time. We couldn’t have ended up with a better host family or situation. After our arrival, we quickly got to know the members of the household.

Eddie and Fatima have grown children living in Guanajuato: Fatima, Auxie, and Jesus. Their grandchildren, Julia and Roberto, come here after school each day and spend time here on the weekends so we see them often. Eddie works most of the time at the clinic or hospital, so the only time we spent with him this week was watching “The Ten Commandments” (in one sitting with Spanish subtitles). We see Fatima the most as she prepares breakfast and a late lunch for us every day. She is so sweet and gracious.

A huge bonus this week was time spent with another US student/ housemate, Sara, who has been attending the university and living here for 3 months. She has been extremely helpful in explaining the routines and customs around here to help us feel at ease. She and Jesus are now an item, so you can imagine how sad the family was yesterday when she flew back to the US. We were too! Fatima told us another student arrives tomorrow for the duration of our stay, so we’ll have a housemate once again.

We are both pleased with our school, Academia Falcon. This week we took 4 classes per day: Grammar, Pronunciation/Diction, and 2 Conversation classes. Student count is low, so besides the teacher, there are just 2 or 4 students per class. Also, the school is celebrating its 25th anniversary so they are offering a 30% discount on tuition fees. Next week, we’ll mix up the schedule a bit with more grammar and a listening class. We may participate in an extra activity or field trip as well, but so far, we’ve enjoyed exploring on our own after school. We can walk everywhere.

The most difficult part in our learning so far is listening comprehension. We have conversations with each other, and students that we can understand, even our instructors speak slowly enough for us, but when we listen to the locals, we realize how much more we’ve yet to learn.

There is so much to learn about the city of Guanajuato. It is famous for its mines that produced enormous amounts of the world's silver for many years. It was the capitol of Mexico during the presidency of Benito Juarez, and has an incredible amount of colonial influence since the Spanish elite lived here for so long. Cathedrals, basillicas, and beautiful old buildings dating into the 1600's rise up among the common Mexican architecture. Another unique feature of the city is a network of underground tunnels that snake underneath entire hillsides and provide alternative routes for autos and pedestrians. It is so hilly here that many of the roads are too narrow for buses or cars. Many calles are for pedestrians only. Guanajuato is also the site of the beginning of the Mexican revolution for independence, a war lasting many years to end Spain's 300 year rule.

Memorable events this week were: Attending a festival for the Sister Cities of Guanajuato (Ashland, OR is one) where we watched beautiful folk dancers… Julia’s 3rd birthday party with a huge cake (pastel) made by chef Jesus… Observing the holiday of the Virgen de Guadelupe on Dec 12 which included parades, lots of street food, costumes and fireworks… Going to the mummy museum (a place full of mummified people. You only need to go here once in your life).

Here’s a kicker in the culture category – the grand opening of Starbucks in the Jardin de la Union was yesterday, so that’s where I sat to write most of this, while Roger went to a spinning class at the local gym. Today, domingo, the country is wrapped up in a huge futbol tournement and all eyes are on the television. There is cheering in the street each time a goal is scored. GOOOOOOOOOAAAAL! Hasta Luego... Coni y Rogellio

We made it to Mexico

Dec 7 - We love Guanajuato, but getting here had its ups and downs. Driving from Bend to Portland in a one-way rental car has some perks. A $27 price tag is nice, but the luck of the draw when it comes to car selection can be nail biting in early December with possible winter storms. Imagine my surprise when the “Compact” car selection was a Mitsubishi Spider convertible. We crammed ourselves and our luggage into that little tin can and luckily drove across Santiam pass on a bluebird day to enjoy an evening send off with friends and family before our early getaway. Thank you Amy and Don for sharing time and a drink, and thank you Lynette and Cam for a fine dinner and soft pillow (the picture shows family: Sam, Heather, Lynette, Cam, Jim, Conley, Anna).

Waking up at 3:30am to travel does not bode for a good night’s sleep, but our excitement about our destination kept us alert most of the day. Unfortunately due to new construction and confusion at the Mexico City Airport, we missed our connecting flight and in order to make it to Guanajuato had to pay for another ticket. Don’t ask, we’ve let it go. We arrived safely around 11:30pm and our host family was awake to greet us and show us to our room.

What a fine arrangement we have here. Fatima and Eddie (Dr. Ordonez) live just a few minute’s walk from our school. Our room is in a lower level of their home, much like our guest quarters at our house, so we feel like we have some private space. We have a desk, closet space, 2 beds, bathroom, and keys to the house to come and go as we please. They provide all meals and treat us like we are part of the family.

This morning after sleeping in until 8:30 and a hearty breakfast with Fatima, we wandered throughout the city acquainting ourselves with the sights, smells and sounds that we love so much here. The whistling grackles, street venders selling their wares, brilliant flowers, brightly painted buildings, and the familiar “Buenos dias” we exchange with everyone we pass. Sunny skies and temps in the 70’s make for a lovely afternoon. We enjoyed a free concert in the shade at the Jardin de Union, where we listened to a mostly brass ensemble play classical, pops, and traditional Mexican music. We couldn’t think of any place else we’d rather be.

We’re back in the house now, cleaning up, resting up, and gearing up for more of Fatima’s fine comida. Tomorrow morning at 8:30 we begin our classes. More to come! Thanks for tuning in.

Bye Bye Bend!

Beginning December 6, we'll say "adios adios Bend". We fly from Portland, OR to Guanajuato, Mexico to begin language school Monday morning at Academia Falcon. This is our first trip to Guanajuato after many trips to Mexico. We plan to attend classes for 4 hours a day and live with a local family.
If you would like to keep up with our experience, please tune in to our blog. There will be lots of holiday, cultural, and travel stories to share.