Hotel Casa del Agua Guanajuato

... 12 at precisely 4:30 (perfect timing -just to fully confirm the extent of my smoothness!) After not tipping the taxi driver, I rang the bell and was met at the front gate that led into the garden by Jorge (hor-hay), who led me to the house who introduced me to his parents and my hosts, Gay (guy - short for Abigail),her husband, Armando, and Jorge's girlfriend, Sara. Jorge carried my bag up the delicate, winding,metal staircase and Sara showed me to my room.

This is a much belated summary of the fantastic weekend I spent at the Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato a few weeks ago. Cervantino is a huge international arts festival that runs for 2 weeks at the end of October. Tons of performances in theaters, in the street, in outdoor amphitheaters...everything from dance to opera to theater to jazz orchestras, cuban jazz, electronica, and related after-, before ...

... gorgeous little boy, Daniel. Conversation was limited since I speak so little Spanish and they speak so little English, but the music was loud anyway, and the energy was warm and friendly.
The next morning, Daniel drove me through a maze of tunnels (a former mine) to Guantajuato. It's world heritage site, so much of the old hispanic architecture is beautifully preserved or restored. It's easy to see why it's such a popular tourist destination.

Well, I have only been in school one week. Seems like forever.

The first day was very interesting. Lupita and JJoe walked me to school. (I had only been there once previously) It was like I was a kid, but I def. appreciated it. They are awesome. In class I am the only one starting new. There is one other girl who is from Japan. She is fun. We laughed so much. I have 2 classes that ...

I have now been here two weeks. It actually still hasn't totally sunk in. I have so many friends I feel at home. (home is whereever I lay my head)

I have had a great time seeing all the sites. Man this place has a ton of culture. I love it. Too much to list. You'll just have to visit.

The best part of being here is the food. and the people. I am ...

... in rush hour traffic when the same ride would have taken an hour, the price would have been more reasonable.   Another warning was of several bus robberies on the route from Puerto Escondido to Huatulco along the Pacific Coast. This was a bus route we were intending to take so there was some concern about that stretch of road.  Fortunately by the time it came around to taking this long bus ride I had completely forgotten about these concerns ...

... the shirt. Always always always... they do this.. they will never say, nah.. its too expensive... no thanks... or im not sure. They have a big issue with saying no. I know what this means now... it no longer bugs me all that much.. I just find it really funny. ¨eh, lets go next week¨ really means i have no iterest in going. At first... the next weekend I would be like... hey you wanna go back and buy that shirt you said you liked¨ anyway, I was expressing this ...

... just the grabbing. Last week's weather was awful. It rained practically non-stop. This is not a good thing in this town as we live in a large bowl and everything runs to the center. Wednesday during the day was actually quite sunny, so I took the MUCH needed opportunity to do laundry. A few hours later, as I was in my room, it started to rain, HARD- so I went running up to the terrace (3 floors) after my clothes (pretty much everything have here ...

Oh Mondays... It was monsooning rain when I woke up this morning. Laying in bed I quickly began to justify the idea of skipping out on my first class.... With my mother's nagging words playing in my head, ("Don't forget why you're there... to learn.") I dragged myself out of bed and into the kitchen... there I found Imelda (host mom) looking just as "happy" as myself. "Maybe we should just pretend like it's not Monday... Im thinking about calling into work ...

... and most of the shops are open. It's a very lively and still colorful environment. We returned to the station by bus and took the next bus to Dolores Hidalgo. Upon arrivingto Dolores Hidalgo, we quickly found a hotel and droppped our bag. We ventured out to find something to eat. Turns out they were having a big celebration in the town center. Pretty much the entire town was there and it was crowded. We checked out the ...