Again I have waited a bit too long to post, but then again life has slowed down quite a bit since the last post. I am certainly happy with the slower pace john and I have recently embraced as we have gradually been able to establish a bit of a daily routine during the week.
Daily Schedule and other stuff...
We wake up slow every morning around 8am. I usually have to prod john a little bit to get him moving but we always make it to breakfast on time at 8:30. We make the short trip upstairs to the kitchen where breakfast and coffee are always waiting for us. Breakfast is simple, usually just cereal, fruit, eggs etc... and of course very strong coffee that john brought all the way from the states. I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't survive our early classes without our favorite caffeinated substance by our sides. Classes start at 9am every morning with maestra Sucuro. She is a wonderful old mexican woman who has been teaching gringos spanish for over 15 years. Probably one of the most animated and comical teachers I have ever encountered, but also very good. I have enjoyed my my class very much thus far, there are only 10 students and all of us laugh a lot and get along very well. Some individuals in the class didn't know any spanish prior to this and they have definitely slowed us down a bit, but it is also very funny listening to them try and talk. The style of the class is very different than any other I took in grade school due to it being an immersion course, the emphasis is not so much on vocabulary and grammar but more so on just speaking and understanding the language, kinda picking things up as we move along. There no tests that I know of yet and we usually have very little homework. Very nice. John and I were initially in the same class but he opted to move up to the next level as he speaks a bit more spanish than I do. I considered moving up, I'm certain I'd do fine, it's just that the teacher is a giant douche bag who just picks on the students the entire time. In fact, john got so fed up with the guy today that they got into an argument about his teaching style and he almost walked out. The dude is also flamboyantly gay, not that I would normally care, but its just that he is soooo flamboyant that it distracts you from the task at hand. So, I'll gladly stay in my class with Sucuro. We are in school until 1pm everyday and get a twenty minute break around 11, during which time John and I walk up the block to this wonderful little pastry shop where I always buy a rather large cinnamon roll for about 20 cents and then purchase some coffee at a different shop on the way back to school. Lunch is served everyday at 2pm at the host family house and is always very delicious. My appetite has grown considerably since arriving here. :) The food is sooooo good and cheap. After eating we hike up into the botanical gardens (I mentioned this place in an earlier post) to get a little exercise and do a nice little workout on the roof of this giant abandoned concrete structure. Not to mention work on our already excellent tans. I'm gonna look like a mexican with long bleach blonde hair. We usually stay around the mountain for a quite a while, just exploring, talking and studying for several hours. We are very lucky to have found this place, it is so very tranquil, always drenched in warm sunlight with a soft, fresh wind from the west, and expansive views of the city and surrounding landscape. There is never anyone else up there, it's crazy! Today I brought my watch with me, which has an altimeter, and the elevation is close to 6500 feet above sea level, just bit higher than the city of Denver to give you an idea. The mid-day temperature on the mountain is right around 80 degrees, it's perfect. We walk down and usually find something random to do around the house or in the city as we wait for dinner time to roll around at 8pm in the evening. Dinner is by far my favorite meal as the table is always crowded and we typically spend more time talking and laughing than we do actually eating. Most nights john and I make another trip up the mountain or just walk around the city in an aimless fashion. Going to bed usually involves watching some crazy bootlegged movie that we buy from the guy who runs the coffee shop. I think that he makes more on dvd sales then he does with his coffee. So... this is my monday through friday in a nutshell, not too exciting i know, but very nice.
I have to tell about the people that john and I are staying with because they are quite the unique crowd. The couple that owns the house, Maria and Alejandro, have been hosting people like us for about 15 years and they do a very good job at it. I would guess that they are perhaps in their late 50's. Maria is a hilarious woman who says "ooohhhhh chicos!" all the time. Very personable and motherly. Alejandro... I would describe as a mexican badass. He works on their family ranch most of the day and has hands that look as though they could choke bull. I am certain that they both like john and i very much, first of all because we are very personable/amiable/friendly individuals who aren't afraid to try and communicate despite our lacking of spanish. Secondly, because I think that they very rarely get to host people that are as young as we are. It turns out that both maria and alejandro's families own ranches just outside of town right next to one another, so I am assuming that they have known each other for a good portion of their lives. We told them that we wanted to visit their ranches and last sunday we were given the opportunity. So, we followed alejandro out of town into a area that was dominated by agriculture and cattle. Very pretty in a mexico sort of way. When we arrived at maria's ranch we could not believe what we found, four giant swimming pools that they fill and drain every weekend with water from natural hot springs that are located on there land. It was incredible to see such large pools fill up so rapidly, and with very warm water too. Of course it was a beautiful day so we couldn't resist the offer to stay and swim and lounge by the pools most of the day.
The others... an older couple, Robert and Barbara, also stay here and attend the same school as john and I. Barbara is in my class and a bit shy. Both of them appear to be in their 50's and are very sweet. Also, a very old woman named Dee, who is approaching 200 years of age and is only half alive also makes an appearance every now and then. I have know idea what she does all day. The last person, also the funniest, is a Japanese women who goes by the name Nana, which today we learned is short for Naomi, and she is absolutely hilarious. I think that she laughs more than she talks, although she does speak very good spanish. Today she showed john and I how flexible she was while we were having coffee in the kitchen. No, we did not ask for this nor did we expect it, she just decided to do it. This isn't sexual either, although I think that she was giving john a little look, saying, "look what I can do." Ahhhh! not cool Nana. Nonetheless, the people we live with are great and very diverse.
We have also become pretty good friends with an Author form New Orleans by the name of Robert Smallwood. He wrote the first book about hurricane katrina (The five people you meet in hell) and it received pretty good reviews. I read the first few pages on Amazon.com and think I would enjoy reading the whole thing. I should probably just ask Robert for a book and have him sign it. He's a pretty crazy guy with lots of crazy ideas and stories, always inviting us to these odd social gatherings with people that are our parents age. He swears that we would be cougar-bait, although I'm not sure I want that unless are willing to fund my adventures. Apparently the ratio of women to men here is close to 10 to 1, but then again this is Robert talking.
The sunsets here are spectacular. Last night john and I sat at one of the highest rooftop bars in san miguel enjoying 2 for 1 margaritas watching the beauty transpire. The picture at the top of the page is from last night. We also had a two beers while we were up there and for some reason they only charged us for the beers. Sweet deal! We bolted before they realized their mistake. Also, john and I are seriously considering starting a business down here. I am not yet willing to share our awesome idea because I don't want anyone to beat us to it, but as we progress I may share more info on said endeavor.
Anyways, I am tired and John says that I have to watch a movie by the name of "WIllow". Apparently it is a colt classic and I have been missing out. We'll see.
I'll keep living this rough life and perhaps post again within the next week if something eventful occurs.
Buenas Noches.
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