First Visit

Mom and Kristin came yesterday. It was a long but uneventful trip to Mexico for them, and all we did yesterday was have dinner. This morning was Calle Obregon, where Mexicans shop a flea-market-like atmosphere for knock offs and other highly (suspiciously, at times?) discounted merchandise. Then in the afternoon we went to Downtown Tlaquepaque, very pretty, upscale, designed for tourists with Celida and her friend Luz. It was a lot of driving, which is horrible here even for me, but mom seemed to be close to cardiac arrest. Tomorrow is Tequila Express, where we'll take a train to Tequila, Jalisco to see how tequila is made. It's an all day event.

Mom and Kristin at dinner the first night here.



A view of Calle Obregon.

Agua Azul

Today I went to Agua Azul, which is a park, but outside of the park is a tianguis, a Mexican flea market. This, by several people, is called a "cultural tianguis," I suppose because no one there is over 30 and, if you want, you can get tattooed and pierced as you browse used books. Today was also the first day I took public transportation, and the light train is very much like the Metrolink in St. Louis. The park has a bird house and a butterfly house as well as an anthropology museum. I took video; you can see the butterfly house.

I hate Mexican Drivers

I've never hated a group of people more than I hate Mexican drivers. No rules. No courtesy. It's annoying when it's good and terrifying when it's bad. I cannot wait to drive amongst normal road raging Americans again.

I took Leo to be bathed today; normally I do it but there's no tub here and it is less than 10 bucks, so why not? While he was being bathed I had my oil changed (no such luck with regards to THAT being cheaper here). The oil change place is in Plaza Del Sol, an outdoor "mall" (more like a marketplace). I've been grocery shopping here lately because I like it better. I took a few photos.

A fountain with some artwork in Plaza del Sol.


Soriana is kind of like Target. I grocery shop here.

Another Mexican Birthday Party

I went to Frank's aunt's birthday party today. It was in her backyard. It was lower key than the birthday party I first went to when I arrived to Guadalajara, but there was still a band that played mostly norteno music and had Mexican food and beer and even pinatas. I enjoyed it more, though, because everyone was so nice. Maybe also because I'm more comfortable conversing in Spanish now, too. People really made an effort to make me feel comfortable.

Party.


Party, again.


Frank's mom made him dance with her so I had to take a photo since he was really embarrassed (mom is in yellow).

LA vs GDL

I was talking to an American today and I was asking what it was about Guadalajara that I didn't like, that I couldn't quite put my finger on, that differed from St. Louis - not just because we're in Mexico, but something different. It seems like people go through the motions here, a lot of continuity, not as much community as I'd expected. It's really Mexico, yet it feels somewhat generic. He said, well, it's because it's the Mexican version of Los Angeles. Having visited LA last summer, it made perfect sense. I liked LA to visit, but got the impression it would be difficult to live there. Here, it is cheaper, but the feel is the same, the traffic is the same... I'm looking forward to mixing it up and seeing the beach for the remainder of this "trip."

That all being said, I like Guadalajara for many reasons too. There is a surprising amount of different types of people here, that seem to coexist much more naturally than in any place I've seen in the U.S. People also seem less judgmental, even if people here are generally more religious.

I lied

After saying I was feeling better, I had several sleepless nights, vomiting and nausea. I'm feeling alright today but I'm not as optimistic as I was Wednesday that whatever this is is through my system. It's not much fun to not be able to do anything.

Finally feeling better

I think I was in a bad mood when I complained about language fatigue the other day. Today's the first full day in over a week by stomach hasn't been killing me, and I slept through the entire night last night.

I'm trying to register my cell phone; you have to by the 10th with the government or it gets shut off, I assume to fight stolen cell phones or whatever. However, the registration process doesn't seem to be working for me. Guess I'll have to go to the cell phone store and have them do it for me.

I bought heartworm medicine for Leo today for roughly 12-13 dollars. It is a lot cheaper than in the states and instead of giving it to him every month, this dose lasts for six. He still needs to see a vet less than 30 days prior to reentering the states to prove he's well, but if it was like when he entered, they won't even ask about him much less ask to see papers.

Language Fatigue

One of the frustrating things about being here is not being able to get your point across or understand someone else when they are trying to make a point because the language barrier makes it difficult to express ideas or feelings. I'm starting to to tire of conversations where I feel lost or stupid. Some conversations are with people who are easily understood but more often than not that's not the case. People have been understanding and patient, and I've learned a lot of Spanish being here, but it's starting to wear me down to the point that I'd rather just talk in English.

Bound to happen

I've had this stomach thing off and on all week and last night I was so nauseous I didn't fall asleep til dawn. Luckily I've yet to throw up. It's not as much fun being here when I'm sick.

Chapala

I went with Juan Carlos and his two friends Memo and Julio to Lake Chapala yesterday. We intially went to a waterpark, which was like hoosier Six Flags on steroids, so we went to a nice hotel instead and pretended to be guests to use the pool. The waiter didn't mind, since he was promised an extra tip, but after a few hours the security guy didn't want to play our game anymore and we had to leave. Still, we got to spend most of the afternoon there. Then we ate dinner and called it a day and drove back to Guadalajara.

View of the hotel.


View of the pool, which overlooks the lake.


This is Valeria, Celida's granddaughter. She's four going on 15, and hammed it up when I said I'd take her picture.