In spite of the fact that San Miguel has approximately 70,000 people living in the city proper, it has the feel of a small town. It seems whenever I am out and about, I always run into someone I know. Driving around with Antonio is the same - he is always honking at many people as he drives past.
Today I worked in my favorite Internet Cafe, and walked home, brought Bryce to his math tutor, then went to Parque Juarez to practice poi. During my day, I ran into:
- Ann-from-Texas, who was getting a replacement passport for one of her kids.
- Maestra Wendy from school.
- Deborah, who was coming out of her house with Emmaline.
There's probably a good mathematical reason for this phenomenon, but it's kind of cool nonetheless.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Last Day in Guanajuato
I woke up early today to try to see the balloons flying over the city from hotel's rooftop patio, but unfortunately the prevailing winds wouldn't be going in our direction. So after some computer time and family breakfast, we started on our last day of adventures.
First stop was the Diego Rivera museum and childhood home. Diego Rivera is a famous mural artist born in Guanajuato, and his birthplace is just down the street from our hotel. They had the ground floor furnished as it was when he was a child, and exhibitions of his artwork from various stages of his life on the two upstairs floors. In spite of being known for his murals, his artwork was exceptional, and also encompassed a wide range of styles, from still-life to cubist to Aztec-inspired. There's also a statue of Diego Rivera outside, and Diego was kind enough to pose for photos with Bryce and Laurel:
Diego Rivera, Bryce and Laurel
Next, we went to the Jardin and returned to this really cool candy store called La Catrina. We bought some traditional Mexican candies there yesterday, but they also sell catrina dolls from Day of the Dead - the long, skinny, well dressed skeleton dolls - and Sue had her eyes on a Frida Kahlo style one, which she wound up buying. I don't remember too much of how it looked, so it will be a surprise for me when we return. The store help made a cardboard "coffin" for it, and cushioned it with all sort of bubble wrap and tissue paper, so hopefully it will make it back OK.
We were considering going to the Museo de las Momias (Mummy Museum), but it looked a little gruesome, and we didn't really want to risk permanently frightening our kids. Plus, once we ate lunch, it was getting near time to catch our bus back to San Miguel.
I had rode on the Primera Plus luxury bus line when I returned to San Francisco in September, but the family had not yet experienced the joys of Mexican bus travel, so we arrived at the bus station (Central Camionera) in time to catch the ETN bus line back to San Miguel. ETN is even more deluxe than Primera Plus. Instead of four seats across, they have just three. They have movies and headphones. And they even offer WiFi. (Unfortunately my laptop had no battery left, so I couldn't try it. And they didn't have any power plugs, in spite of my crawling around on the floor for a while in search of one.) Nonetheless, it was a pleasant trip, and much better than my one-and-only Greyhound experience in the USA.
As we returned, it struck me how strange it was coming "home", when home isn't really home. I can't recall ever having the feeling of a trip-within-a-trip. It's a little unsettling, but it's nice to be back in our comfortable San Miguel residence, with a somewhat predictable week ahead of us, reunited with our more extensive collection of clothes and personal possessions. But Guanajuato was a neat place to visit, and we're all glad we made the trip.
First stop was the Diego Rivera museum and childhood home. Diego Rivera is a famous mural artist born in Guanajuato, and his birthplace is just down the street from our hotel. They had the ground floor furnished as it was when he was a child, and exhibitions of his artwork from various stages of his life on the two upstairs floors. In spite of being known for his murals, his artwork was exceptional, and also encompassed a wide range of styles, from still-life to cubist to Aztec-inspired. There's also a statue of Diego Rivera outside, and Diego was kind enough to pose for photos with Bryce and Laurel:
Diego Rivera, Bryce and Laurel
Next, we went to the Jardin and returned to this really cool candy store called La Catrina. We bought some traditional Mexican candies there yesterday, but they also sell catrina dolls from Day of the Dead - the long, skinny, well dressed skeleton dolls - and Sue had her eyes on a Frida Kahlo style one, which she wound up buying. I don't remember too much of how it looked, so it will be a surprise for me when we return. The store help made a cardboard "coffin" for it, and cushioned it with all sort of bubble wrap and tissue paper, so hopefully it will make it back OK.
We were considering going to the Museo de las Momias (Mummy Museum), but it looked a little gruesome, and we didn't really want to risk permanently frightening our kids. Plus, once we ate lunch, it was getting near time to catch our bus back to San Miguel.
I had rode on the Primera Plus luxury bus line when I returned to San Francisco in September, but the family had not yet experienced the joys of Mexican bus travel, so we arrived at the bus station (Central Camionera) in time to catch the ETN bus line back to San Miguel. ETN is even more deluxe than Primera Plus. Instead of four seats across, they have just three. They have movies and headphones. And they even offer WiFi. (Unfortunately my laptop had no battery left, so I couldn't try it. And they didn't have any power plugs, in spite of my crawling around on the floor for a while in search of one.) Nonetheless, it was a pleasant trip, and much better than my one-and-only Greyhound experience in the USA.
As we returned, it struck me how strange it was coming "home", when home isn't really home. I can't recall ever having the feeling of a trip-within-a-trip. It's a little unsettling, but it's nice to be back in our comfortable San Miguel residence, with a somewhat predictable week ahead of us, reunited with our more extensive collection of clothes and personal possessions. But Guanajuato was a neat place to visit, and we're all glad we made the trip.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday Night Callejonada
I love night time, and once Sue and the kids were tucked away in bed I went out to see what surprises Guanajuato had for me on a Saturday night. Guanajuato is a university town, with very few foreigners, so it's quite different than the San Miguel scene. Apparently many students leave on Friday and return on Sunday, so the weekends are more touristy, but the youth influence still seemed to remain strong. As I walked around, I noticed many more hip nightclubs, with loud rock or dance music coming from underground cave-like bars. A lot of people were out and about, and it felt perfectly safe.
After a late night snack, I wandered back to the Jardin where a group of minstrel-looking young people had gathered in front of the main church there. They were singing a few songs, and getting the crowd involved, and then they beckoned the crowd to follow them, which I and about 80 other people did.
Callejonada group
I had heard about these groups, which are the pied pipers of various callejonadas, or alley parties. (In Spanish, a callejon is an alley, and adding "ada" to the end of anything makes it into a party.) They lead groups of people around town, singing songs, telling stories and entertaining them. They appeared to be students, but all very capable musicians and actors. I followed one group around for a while, and although I didn't understand all of the Spanish, the music was quite entertaining. For 90 pesos, they offer you an hour-long show, and you get a special wine mug that you can carry with you and fill along the way.
Here's a rather crude video I took which give you a little of the flavor:
Guanajuato - with it's narrow alleys and windy backstreets - is a perfect place for these callejonadas. Definitely an "only in this part of the world" event.
After a late night snack, I wandered back to the Jardin where a group of minstrel-looking young people had gathered in front of the main church there. They were singing a few songs, and getting the crowd involved, and then they beckoned the crowd to follow them, which I and about 80 other people did.
Callejonada group
I had heard about these groups, which are the pied pipers of various callejonadas, or alley parties. (In Spanish, a callejon is an alley, and adding "ada" to the end of anything makes it into a party.) They lead groups of people around town, singing songs, telling stories and entertaining them. They appeared to be students, but all very capable musicians and actors. I followed one group around for a while, and although I didn't understand all of the Spanish, the music was quite entertaining. For 90 pesos, they offer you an hour-long show, and you get a special wine mug that you can carry with you and fill along the way.
Here's a rather crude video I took which give you a little of the flavor:
Guanajuato - with it's narrow alleys and windy backstreets - is a perfect place for these callejonadas. Definitely an "only in this part of the world" event.
Saturday in Guanajuato
Today is our one full day in Guanajuato, so we have a lot of plans. First off, a trip up the Funicular (tram) to the top of El Pípila, a mountain monument dedicated to one of the heroes of the revolution. From the top, you get a great view of the town, and the monument is pretty cool too.
El Pípila
La Familia looking down at Guanajuato from the Pipila
While we do our best to expose our kids to all the cultural and historic sites, they both enjoy shopping - especially Bryce. (Shopping is also a great way to reinforce language and math skills.) While we were at the monument, we found a cool Ferrari leather jacket for Bryce, and it was too good to pass up. So after a few concessions and promises of future good behavior on his part, he's now even more stylin' than ever:
Bryce's New Jacket
After lunch, the next stop was the Mercado (market) - another must-see of any Mexican town. Guanajuato's Mercado is housed in a half-circular building, with a second story balcony containing more shops. As with San Miguel's mercado, you can buy food, produce, and assorted hardware and artisan crafts. I found a yummy carnitas stand, and had two delicious tortas (sandwiches). Bryce and Laurel bought a few things with their trip allowance. It's a little claustrophobic, so we didn't stay long, but it was cool nonetheless.
Guanajuato's Mercado
After recharging in our hotel, we went back out to the Jardin. The kids wanted to check out Spray Paint Guy again, and Sue and I just hung out on a bench watching the whole Jardin scene. For dinner, we sat at a cafe next to the Theater steps and watched a mime perform on the natural street-theater stage next to us. While our food was being prepared, Bryce went to sit on the steps to get a better view of the show, and wound up getting picked by the mime along with several other Mexican boys. Bryce is naturally very expressive, so he was a perfect choice. Here's a little video of the street show and Bryce's part in it:
Next stop: the nighttime balloon festival. We took a taxi to the outskirts of town where they had a flat area, and watched six balloons inflate and light up at night. It was a pretty sight. Plus, we got to talk to some of the balloon operators, most of whom were Americans, mostly from Texas. Laurel got to check out the inside of one of the baskets.
Balloons at night
Laurel in the balloon basket
Finally, everyone (except for me) was tired, so Sue and the kids went to bed. But since I had a nap earlier, and am a night-owl anyway, I had one more adventure in me...
El Pípila
La Familia looking down at Guanajuato from the Pipila
While we do our best to expose our kids to all the cultural and historic sites, they both enjoy shopping - especially Bryce. (Shopping is also a great way to reinforce language and math skills.) While we were at the monument, we found a cool Ferrari leather jacket for Bryce, and it was too good to pass up. So after a few concessions and promises of future good behavior on his part, he's now even more stylin' than ever:
Bryce's New Jacket
After lunch, the next stop was the Mercado (market) - another must-see of any Mexican town. Guanajuato's Mercado is housed in a half-circular building, with a second story balcony containing more shops. As with San Miguel's mercado, you can buy food, produce, and assorted hardware and artisan crafts. I found a yummy carnitas stand, and had two delicious tortas (sandwiches). Bryce and Laurel bought a few things with their trip allowance. It's a little claustrophobic, so we didn't stay long, but it was cool nonetheless.
Guanajuato's Mercado
After recharging in our hotel, we went back out to the Jardin. The kids wanted to check out Spray Paint Guy again, and Sue and I just hung out on a bench watching the whole Jardin scene. For dinner, we sat at a cafe next to the Theater steps and watched a mime perform on the natural street-theater stage next to us. While our food was being prepared, Bryce went to sit on the steps to get a better view of the show, and wound up getting picked by the mime along with several other Mexican boys. Bryce is naturally very expressive, so he was a perfect choice. Here's a little video of the street show and Bryce's part in it:
Next stop: the nighttime balloon festival. We took a taxi to the outskirts of town where they had a flat area, and watched six balloons inflate and light up at night. It was a pretty sight. Plus, we got to talk to some of the balloon operators, most of whom were Americans, mostly from Texas. Laurel got to check out the inside of one of the baskets.
Balloons at night
Laurel in the balloon basket
Finally, everyone (except for me) was tired, so Sue and the kids went to bed. But since I had a nap earlier, and am a night-owl anyway, I had one more adventure in me...
Friday, November 27, 2009
Guanajuato Balloon Parade
A pretty effective marketing technique for any event that comes to town is to have a parade promoting the event, as we've seen a few times in San Miguel. After dinner, as we were leaving our Italian restaurant, we saw a flotilla of pickup trucks with baskets and live flame throwers in them. It turns out this weekend is the Guanajuato Hot Air Balloon festival. Saturday night is the "noche magica" (magic night) where they illuminate the balloons at night. It's on our calendar.
Flame throwing Balloonists on the streets of Guanajuato
Flame throwing Balloonists on the streets of Guanajuato
Guanajuato's Jardin and The Spray Paint Guy
The first place to go when visiting any Mexican town is the Jardin or town square. This is where all the action is. So after getting our bearings, we found our Jardin. Guanajuato's Jardin is a lot smaller than San Miguel's, and is triangular instead of square. There's also a theater adjacent, and the steps in front make for a perfect stage for street performers, as we'll soon discover.
This triangular Jardin has one side lined with restaurant cafes, one side with shops, and one side has a walking street. On the side with the shops, the sidewalk is fairly wide, and it is home to the "Spray Paint guy". Using spray paints and various scraping and edging tools, he was able to create some pretty amazing paintings using shapes and negative space. Bryce, Laurel and several other kids were fascinated watching this artist in action. In retrospect, we should have bought one of his works, as they were just 50 pesos, or about $4. Here he is with his audience:
Bryce and Laurel Watching The Spray Paint Guy
This triangular Jardin has one side lined with restaurant cafes, one side with shops, and one side has a walking street. On the side with the shops, the sidewalk is fairly wide, and it is home to the "Spray Paint guy". Using spray paints and various scraping and edging tools, he was able to create some pretty amazing paintings using shapes and negative space. Bryce, Laurel and several other kids were fascinated watching this artist in action. In retrospect, we should have bought one of his works, as they were just 50 pesos, or about $4. Here he is with his audience:
Bryce and Laurel Watching The Spray Paint Guy
Arriving in Guanajuato
We have planned to spend Friday and Saturday night in Guanajuato - a medium sized city about 50 miles outside of San Miguel. We've heard some cool things about this place, and the kids are always up for an adventure and a new hotel, so off we went.
One of the first things you hear about Guanajuato are the tunnels. Guanajuato sits in the bottom of a bowl of mountains, and as such, the town used to get horrible floods. In the early 1900's, the town's government decided to dig some tunnels below town as a way to give it some drainage after a particularly severe flooding incident. As the town grew, with it's twisty curvy roads, it became unmanageable for cars to go through town, so they expanded the drainage tunnels to accommodate automobile traffic. The result is a unique two-layered town, with lots of pedestrian-only roads that becomes efficient, charming and somewhat confusing. The tunnels have no relation to the streets above, and there are nine or ten different ones. You can walk through the tunnels as well as the "surface streets" to get around, but the top level is much nicer.
Bryce and Laurel in a walking tunnel
Speeding taxi view of a car tunnel
Our hotel - Meson Los Poetes - was interesting. It was built into the side of a mountain, and it angles up four stories. We were on the top floor, which meant lots of stairs. Without signs telling us how to get up and down, we would have gotten totally lost. Elevators would not have worked here. The hotel was comfortable and cute, but nothing fancy.
Setting out from our hotel, we immediately got lost. Guanajuato isn't on a grid system, which takes a little getting used to. Fortunately, the main destinations are well marked, so eventually we found our way around. There is a main street that runs through the center of the bowl, and even though it is crooked, once you find it, you can get to all the popular areas.
Universadid de Guanajuato
It's a really charming town. And our adventure's just beginning.
One of the first things you hear about Guanajuato are the tunnels. Guanajuato sits in the bottom of a bowl of mountains, and as such, the town used to get horrible floods. In the early 1900's, the town's government decided to dig some tunnels below town as a way to give it some drainage after a particularly severe flooding incident. As the town grew, with it's twisty curvy roads, it became unmanageable for cars to go through town, so they expanded the drainage tunnels to accommodate automobile traffic. The result is a unique two-layered town, with lots of pedestrian-only roads that becomes efficient, charming and somewhat confusing. The tunnels have no relation to the streets above, and there are nine or ten different ones. You can walk through the tunnels as well as the "surface streets" to get around, but the top level is much nicer.
Bryce and Laurel in a walking tunnel
Speeding taxi view of a car tunnel
Our hotel - Meson Los Poetes - was interesting. It was built into the side of a mountain, and it angles up four stories. We were on the top floor, which meant lots of stairs. Without signs telling us how to get up and down, we would have gotten totally lost. Elevators would not have worked here. The hotel was comfortable and cute, but nothing fancy.
Setting out from our hotel, we immediately got lost. Guanajuato isn't on a grid system, which takes a little getting used to. Fortunately, the main destinations are well marked, so eventually we found our way around. There is a main street that runs through the center of the bowl, and even though it is crooked, once you find it, you can get to all the popular areas.
Universadid de Guanajuato
It's a really charming town. And our adventure's just beginning.
Return to La Burger
We picked up the kids from school today for our planned weekend trip to Guanajuato. But first, we just HAD to return to La Burger, one of the best hamburger places we've ever been to. It's sort of a gourmet In 'n Out, with just burgers, steaks, fries, empanadas and some veggie burger options.
Like before, Sue, Laurel and I got burgers, and Bryce (the future vegetarian) got Empanadas, all of which were amazingly good. This time, I made a point of introducing myself to Walter, the owner. Walter is from Chile, and has had this La Burger open for just six weeks. His other La Burger is in Chile, and is now being operated by his sister. South Americans really know their steak, and the San Miguel branch imports all their meats from the USA. The mesquite grill is the centerpiece of the restaurant. It's a really simple system, but it totally works.
The owner of Landeta, a high end Italian restaurant just outside of town, owns the land upon which La Burger sits, and he is planning to move his restaurant next to La Burger. I guess the idea is to make a gourmet food court of sorts. Sounds like a great idea to me.
Now we're off to Guanajuato...
Like before, Sue, Laurel and I got burgers, and Bryce (the future vegetarian) got Empanadas, all of which were amazingly good. This time, I made a point of introducing myself to Walter, the owner. Walter is from Chile, and has had this La Burger open for just six weeks. His other La Burger is in Chile, and is now being operated by his sister. South Americans really know their steak, and the San Miguel branch imports all their meats from the USA. The mesquite grill is the centerpiece of the restaurant. It's a really simple system, but it totally works.
The owner of Landeta, a high end Italian restaurant just outside of town, owns the land upon which La Burger sits, and he is planning to move his restaurant next to La Burger. I guess the idea is to make a gourmet food court of sorts. Sounds like a great idea to me.
Now we're off to Guanajuato...
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Feliz Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and one of the unknowns about moving to Mexico was what would become of my beloved ritual of friends, family, turkey and stuffing. Fortunately, the ex-pat community is just as in love with Thanksgiving as I am, so lots of options abound.
Jim and Adriana invited us to join them at Los Senderos for their Thanksgiving celebration with their son Nicholas. Los Senderos is a development in progress, which smartly started with a first class restaurant to attract people to the site. The restaurant was beautiful, and very Napa-esque. It had lots of stone, some cool waterfalls, and an adjacent garden growing some of the vegetables served to the patrons. It was very inviting.
We got there about an hour ahead of time, just to be able to enjoy the grounds for a bit. We found a big beautiful tree to lounge under. Bryce played with his cars, Laurel became a grasshopper trainer, I practiced poi, and Sue just chilled outside and shot some photos. Here's one of Laurel on the grounds:
Laurel chilling at Los Senderos
Jim and Adrianna arrived on schedule, and we made our way to the restaurant patio for dinner. It turns out today was their thirteenth anniversary! Adrianna surprised Jim (and the rest of us) with a really good Mariachi band, who played my new favorites Rancho Grande and Mariachis Locos, as well as several requests from Jim and Adriana. After listening to this band, I now have a much better appreciation of Mariachi music.
Our Mariachis
Jim and Adrianna enjoying their special day
As we were being entertained, our long awaited Thanksgiving dinner arrived, and it was delicious. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans with yams, and some yummy foccacia-style rolls. Another part of my personal tradition is having a second helping, and since Bryce isn't much of a carnivore, I was able to finish his plate as well. Yum!
Our gourmet Thanksgiving dinner
After dinner, the kids played on the expansive grounds while the adults talked. Los Senderos had some bikes available for guests to use, and the three kids went off exploring, checking back in every-so-often to see if we had ordered dessert yet. Finally, we got to choose from pumpkin pie, apple strudel and creme brulee, all of which were tasty.
We had yet another Mexican-style unhurried, long get-together, without the stress of cooking and cleaning of a traditional Thanksgiving. It's just how the holiday should be!
Jim and Adriana invited us to join them at Los Senderos for their Thanksgiving celebration with their son Nicholas. Los Senderos is a development in progress, which smartly started with a first class restaurant to attract people to the site. The restaurant was beautiful, and very Napa-esque. It had lots of stone, some cool waterfalls, and an adjacent garden growing some of the vegetables served to the patrons. It was very inviting.
We got there about an hour ahead of time, just to be able to enjoy the grounds for a bit. We found a big beautiful tree to lounge under. Bryce played with his cars, Laurel became a grasshopper trainer, I practiced poi, and Sue just chilled outside and shot some photos. Here's one of Laurel on the grounds:
Laurel chilling at Los Senderos
Jim and Adrianna arrived on schedule, and we made our way to the restaurant patio for dinner. It turns out today was their thirteenth anniversary! Adrianna surprised Jim (and the rest of us) with a really good Mariachi band, who played my new favorites Rancho Grande and Mariachis Locos, as well as several requests from Jim and Adriana. After listening to this band, I now have a much better appreciation of Mariachi music.
Our Mariachis
Jim and Adrianna enjoying their special day
As we were being entertained, our long awaited Thanksgiving dinner arrived, and it was delicious. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans with yams, and some yummy foccacia-style rolls. Another part of my personal tradition is having a second helping, and since Bryce isn't much of a carnivore, I was able to finish his plate as well. Yum!
Our gourmet Thanksgiving dinner
After dinner, the kids played on the expansive grounds while the adults talked. Los Senderos had some bikes available for guests to use, and the three kids went off exploring, checking back in every-so-often to see if we had ordered dessert yet. Finally, we got to choose from pumpkin pie, apple strudel and creme brulee, all of which were tasty.
We had yet another Mexican-style unhurried, long get-together, without the stress of cooking and cleaning of a traditional Thanksgiving. It's just how the holiday should be!
School Canyon Trip
Sometimes it's hard to get a good reporting of what happens at school from Bryce and Laurel, but not today. Laurel greeted us by showing off some crystal geodes she found on a school adventure to the "canyon", a place we had heard about from other kids who went to our school the previous year.
It's about a 30 minute walk from campus, and once there, the kids are able to find all sorts of cool geological treasures. Laurel had three geodes, and was thrilled.
And I'm glad that Finn, Tjasa's son who was visiting from San Francisco and may be coming to our school, also got to do this. But... when do I get to go?
It's about a 30 minute walk from campus, and once there, the kids are able to find all sorts of cool geological treasures. Laurel had three geodes, and was thrilled.
And I'm glad that Finn, Tjasa's son who was visiting from San Francisco and may be coming to our school, also got to do this. But... when do I get to go?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tuesday - Mexican Style
You never really know what's going to happen on any given day. Tuesday is market day, and of course, we almost always go since it's so cool, but beyond that it can get kind of random. Today was no exception.
I got through some work this morning, and then met Sue and Deborah at the market for lunch. We had a tried-and-true gordito (like a stuffed taco) from our favorite stand, as well as a couple yummy aguas frescas (fresh fruit drinks). I also branched out to the fried fish stand, and tried one of them. Usually I avoid fried stuff, but for an only-in-Mexico treat I couldn't resist. Lots of other people were eating them, so I sat down and picked apart my own fresh, whole fish. It was actually really good, and the limes and salsa with it were a plus too. Here's a photo so you can see what it looked like:
Fried fish stand
On our way home, we get a call from Anne-from-Baltimore. They just bought a house here, and today is the first day they are in possession of the house. Would we like to come by for a cocktail? We've been dying to see the house, so we drop our goodies from the market at the house, and head over. They bought a stunning house in Barrio Aldea. (No photos yet.) It has a small pool, an aqueduct/waterfall thing, a great garden, an awesome downstairs patio, and great architecture inside. Sue got a tour later, and they have an upstairs terrace with a killer view of the Parroquia too. I am extremely envious, but happy for them.
We hung out for a while on the downstairs patio, and Fernanado and Rosanna (another mom from school) were also there. I volunteered to take the kids to "Pony Club" today, and Fernando's kids join us, so Fernando and I left early to be good parents. Sue wound up staying for 3 1/2 hours as various guests came in and out of the new house.
Pony Club is run by an amazing Dutch woman named Nicole. We had heard great things about her from several other people, and so we signed the kids up for riding lessons. There's also a component of taking care of the horses in Pony Club, so all four kids did some grooming, mane braiding, washing, and hoof cleaning, as well as a little riding. This is definitely a "however long it takes" situation, and when one kid is riding, the other kids are entertaining themselves. Fernando and I hung out, and Liz joined us for a while. Then we chatted with Nicole once the lessons were done. We spent almost three hours, but it was really nice, and it's a beautiful place.
Come sunset, we went to Fernando's family's restaurant Kuni Doni for dinner. Sue met us there, and assorted cousins, uncles and friends were there as well. Sixty-something Uncle Cuautli was there, with his nineteen-year-old girlfriend Rosario. Cuautli's ex-wife forty-something Patty was there, with her twenty-nine year old boyfriend Gaston. (Cuautli and Patty met when she was nineteen and he was forty - do you see a pattern?) And Cuautli's kids - the amazing African drummers and world adventures we have heard about - Arnulfo and Andreas - were there as well, so we finally got to meet them. Even Pedro-the-cheese-guy - whom Sue met earlier at the market and bought some incredible cheese from that day - came in. The food was good, but they are still getting it together service-wise, so occasionally Liz would get up and go into the kitchen for something. It's actually fun going to a family-owned restaurant with the family. It makes it feel like a real home cooked meal.
We spent nearly three hours at the restaurant, just talking with various people. One amazing thing about Fernando's family is that everyone speaks good English - even the boyfriends and girlfriends. Plus, the entire family is really artsy. Fernando looks the most buttoned-up one of the bunch, but he has a knack for home-building and design.
Andreas and I talked for a while. He just came back from many months in Cabo with his brother and girlfriend. They put together a fire performance group, and did ten minute shows at night for the local hotels, which paid them well. The rest of the day they surfed, played drums, and hung out at the beach. What a life! We're trying to set up a drum and fire spinning jam at Cuautli's ranch in a couple of weeks.
We finally got home a little after nine o'clock. Way past the normal bedtime, but this was a day not to worry about the clock.
I got through some work this morning, and then met Sue and Deborah at the market for lunch. We had a tried-and-true gordito (like a stuffed taco) from our favorite stand, as well as a couple yummy aguas frescas (fresh fruit drinks). I also branched out to the fried fish stand, and tried one of them. Usually I avoid fried stuff, but for an only-in-Mexico treat I couldn't resist. Lots of other people were eating them, so I sat down and picked apart my own fresh, whole fish. It was actually really good, and the limes and salsa with it were a plus too. Here's a photo so you can see what it looked like:
Fried fish stand
On our way home, we get a call from Anne-from-Baltimore. They just bought a house here, and today is the first day they are in possession of the house. Would we like to come by for a cocktail? We've been dying to see the house, so we drop our goodies from the market at the house, and head over. They bought a stunning house in Barrio Aldea. (No photos yet.) It has a small pool, an aqueduct/waterfall thing, a great garden, an awesome downstairs patio, and great architecture inside. Sue got a tour later, and they have an upstairs terrace with a killer view of the Parroquia too. I am extremely envious, but happy for them.
We hung out for a while on the downstairs patio, and Fernanado and Rosanna (another mom from school) were also there. I volunteered to take the kids to "Pony Club" today, and Fernando's kids join us, so Fernando and I left early to be good parents. Sue wound up staying for 3 1/2 hours as various guests came in and out of the new house.
Pony Club is run by an amazing Dutch woman named Nicole. We had heard great things about her from several other people, and so we signed the kids up for riding lessons. There's also a component of taking care of the horses in Pony Club, so all four kids did some grooming, mane braiding, washing, and hoof cleaning, as well as a little riding. This is definitely a "however long it takes" situation, and when one kid is riding, the other kids are entertaining themselves. Fernando and I hung out, and Liz joined us for a while. Then we chatted with Nicole once the lessons were done. We spent almost three hours, but it was really nice, and it's a beautiful place.
Come sunset, we went to Fernando's family's restaurant Kuni Doni for dinner. Sue met us there, and assorted cousins, uncles and friends were there as well. Sixty-something Uncle Cuautli was there, with his nineteen-year-old girlfriend Rosario. Cuautli's ex-wife forty-something Patty was there, with her twenty-nine year old boyfriend Gaston. (Cuautli and Patty met when she was nineteen and he was forty - do you see a pattern?) And Cuautli's kids - the amazing African drummers and world adventures we have heard about - Arnulfo and Andreas - were there as well, so we finally got to meet them. Even Pedro-the-cheese-guy - whom Sue met earlier at the market and bought some incredible cheese from that day - came in. The food was good, but they are still getting it together service-wise, so occasionally Liz would get up and go into the kitchen for something. It's actually fun going to a family-owned restaurant with the family. It makes it feel like a real home cooked meal.
We spent nearly three hours at the restaurant, just talking with various people. One amazing thing about Fernando's family is that everyone speaks good English - even the boyfriends and girlfriends. Plus, the entire family is really artsy. Fernando looks the most buttoned-up one of the bunch, but he has a knack for home-building and design.
Andreas and I talked for a while. He just came back from many months in Cabo with his brother and girlfriend. They put together a fire performance group, and did ten minute shows at night for the local hotels, which paid them well. The rest of the day they surfed, played drums, and hung out at the beach. What a life! We're trying to set up a drum and fire spinning jam at Cuautli's ranch in a couple of weeks.
We finally got home a little after nine o'clock. Way past the normal bedtime, but this was a day not to worry about the clock.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Beasts of Burden
I’ve got to admit, I have an infatuation with the donkeys in San Miguel. During the warmer months these true beasts of burden make their way through the cobblestone streets of San Miguel loaded with rich potting soil for sale. When the weather gets cold the donkeys bear an even more impressive load of mesquite wood which their owners sell to town folks by rapping loudly on their doors with a heavy wooden walking stick. Albeit, this makes a perfect picture card scenario in the quaint streets of San Miguel yet I have heard these ranchers often walk 8 hours before they reach the city and somehow survive on a mere $6000 pesos a month (about $300 dollars). Now who is the beast of burden?
How Not to Get Work
On some of our day walks, Sue and I have come across a local fifteen-year-old boy named "Juan" in our neighborhood. He's always asking us if we have any work, and throughout our conversation he wants to give several hugs to Sue. Let's just say he's a little strange.
Today Sue was waiting outside for Antonio to pick up the kids for school, and then bam! Juan is walking a dog that runs into Sue. The normal conversation ensues: "Do you have any work?" "No." "Can I have a hug?" "No, I'm sick." "Are you sure you don't have any work?" "Yes." "How about a hug?" "No."
Then Juan's dog pees on Sue's leg.
I don't think we have any work for Juan.
Today Sue was waiting outside for Antonio to pick up the kids for school, and then bam! Juan is walking a dog that runs into Sue. The normal conversation ensues: "Do you have any work?" "No." "Can I have a hug?" "No, I'm sick." "Are you sure you don't have any work?" "Yes." "How about a hug?" "No."
Then Juan's dog pees on Sue's leg.
I don't think we have any work for Juan.
Bryce's Travel Channel - Episode 2
Last week while Coleen and Jacqueline were visiting our school, Bryce and I filmed another Travel Channel episode about Colegio Rudolf Steiner where the kids are attending school. Bryce is getting better as a TV host, and there are some precious moments in the video. You also get to meet some of the teachers, Fernando (grande), and see the school from Bryce's eyes. Enjoy!
Tech note: YouTube was being a bugger. I tried about five times to upload, and after 90 minutes each time I got an "error", with no explanation. So I switched to Vimeo for this one.
Tech note: YouTube was being a bugger. I tried about five times to upload, and after 90 minutes each time I got an "error", with no explanation. So I switched to Vimeo for this one.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Much Needed Date Night
It seems Sue and I have been in constant kidville for a long time, so we appreciated the opportunity to have Rocio come tonight to watch the kids while we reconnected. No big plans - just do something nice.
We had another great meal at Casa Blanca, which has been reliably good. Sue's salad and lasagna were delicious, as were my chile poblano crema soup and a seafood marinara pasta. For most of the meal, we were the only patrons, so the service was great as expected.
Afterward, we wandered up to the Jardin, where they had a few Mariachi bands on stage. We just sat on the steps of the Parroquia and enjoyed the music, relieved that there were no kids that needed to be watched. The night time air was just the perfect temperature. It was pretty romantic.
Finally, we walked through town for a bit, and came upon this fountain which caught my fancy:
One of the coolest fountains ever
Just a nice evening. And just the two of us.
We had another great meal at Casa Blanca, which has been reliably good. Sue's salad and lasagna were delicious, as were my chile poblano crema soup and a seafood marinara pasta. For most of the meal, we were the only patrons, so the service was great as expected.
Afterward, we wandered up to the Jardin, where they had a few Mariachi bands on stage. We just sat on the steps of the Parroquia and enjoyed the music, relieved that there were no kids that needed to be watched. The night time air was just the perfect temperature. It was pretty romantic.
Finally, we walked through town for a bit, and came upon this fountain which caught my fancy:
One of the coolest fountains ever
Just a nice evening. And just the two of us.
Kids Rodeo
Adriana invited us to a local "kids rodeo" today, which was also a benefit for her school. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but it sounded like fun, so we were in!
We met Tjasa, Scott and family, and drove out to the rodeo ring by the Deportivo - the local sports complex. Inside, there must have been 500 people or so, and a lot of the families we have gotten to know. A Mariachi band was providing the musical accompaniment to the events. Kids were everywhere. It was pretty lively.
The rodeo had different events, mostly featuring young contestants (as young as nine years old). Some girls were doing skill riding in formations - sidesaddle! There was a "pull the cow's tail while he's running and make him wipe out" event. And a "rope a running horse by the feet" contest. And a few other things. We stayed for about half the event, which was enough to appreciate the cultural experience. Scott sent me some more of his awesome photos:
Sidesaddle riding girls
Cool kid
Pulling-the-cow's-tail event
After about two hours of games with cows and horses, the kids were ready to be active, so we went to the playground at the Deportivo - the local sports center - which was adjacent to the rodeo. I was unaware that there existed any other playground options besides Parque Juarez. This playground had some interesting apparatuses, and were in decent shape. There is also a running track, a covered outdoor basketball court, a couple of soccer fields, and something which looked like a miniature jai-alai fronton. The mountains in the distance looked great from the park. Bryce and Finn discovered a new gravity-defying gizmo, and proceeded to test it's limits, as Scott captured nicely here:
Bryce and Finn playing with the laws of physics
We met Tjasa, Scott and family, and drove out to the rodeo ring by the Deportivo - the local sports complex. Inside, there must have been 500 people or so, and a lot of the families we have gotten to know. A Mariachi band was providing the musical accompaniment to the events. Kids were everywhere. It was pretty lively.
The rodeo had different events, mostly featuring young contestants (as young as nine years old). Some girls were doing skill riding in formations - sidesaddle! There was a "pull the cow's tail while he's running and make him wipe out" event. And a "rope a running horse by the feet" contest. And a few other things. We stayed for about half the event, which was enough to appreciate the cultural experience. Scott sent me some more of his awesome photos:
Sidesaddle riding girls
Cool kid
Pulling-the-cow's-tail event
After about two hours of games with cows and horses, the kids were ready to be active, so we went to the playground at the Deportivo - the local sports center - which was adjacent to the rodeo. I was unaware that there existed any other playground options besides Parque Juarez. This playground had some interesting apparatuses, and were in decent shape. There is also a running track, a covered outdoor basketball court, a couple of soccer fields, and something which looked like a miniature jai-alai fronton. The mountains in the distance looked great from the park. Bryce and Finn discovered a new gravity-defying gizmo, and proceeded to test it's limits, as Scott captured nicely here:
Bryce and Finn playing with the laws of physics
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Night of the Tuna
Today is Liz and Fernando's twelfth anniversary, and we offered to watch Romy and Fernandito for the day (and night) while they celebrated like adults. This may seem extremely generous, but Romy and Fernandito are two of the nicest kids you'll ever meet, so it's a piece of cake for us. Our plan was to have a fun physical day with lots of running around, with an occasional break for food.
They came by around 1:30 or so, and we all took a nice nature walk to El Charco up the street. We're still jonesing for nature at least once a week, and this is a great easy outlet. We took a small hike, and as usual it's really pretty up there. Here's a photo of the four kids we took by the reservoir:
The kids on the dam at El Charco Ingenio
Upon returning, we could tell the kids were getting hungry, so we headed out for comida. On the way, we went past Fernando and Romy's cousin's house (Fernando and Lucia), and stopped in to say hi. Cousin Fernando was there, and he showed us some of his and Lucia's amazing photographs. He's also an actor, and general bohemian. Last night, they staged an impromptu street party in a small alley somewhere, where Lucia did some fire poi, Fernando showed his photos, and other acrobats and street artists did their thing. I made Cousin Fernando promise to call me the next time there is any fire spinning going on.
After comida, we headed to the Jardin for general playtime. There was a stage set up, and a banner for a Festival de Tunas tonight. Apparently, Tuna is a style of music, sort of like Gypsy Kings meets Mariachi. The bands are all string instruments - guitars, mandolins, ukulele, bass, etc. Bryce was off-kilter today, probably exhausted from his big play-day yesterday, so he went home with Sue, while I stayed and watched for a bit. Laura - a super nice petite Mexican mom I have met before at a few parties - was there with her kids, and our collective gang of kids played by the Parroquia while we talked and enjoyed the music. Lately, it seems like I have had few opportunities to have real Spanish conversation, so I was a little nervous to talk to her at first, but I got over it and we had a nice chat while enjoying the music.
The Tuna bands were fun. They had a traditional attire, some with tights and pouffy velour. The bands were all men, except for two with all women. The male bands seemed to have a stronger sound, although the sound system at the Jardin left a little to be desired. But it was fun to experience nonetheless.
All women Tuna band
They came by around 1:30 or so, and we all took a nice nature walk to El Charco up the street. We're still jonesing for nature at least once a week, and this is a great easy outlet. We took a small hike, and as usual it's really pretty up there. Here's a photo of the four kids we took by the reservoir:
The kids on the dam at El Charco Ingenio
Upon returning, we could tell the kids were getting hungry, so we headed out for comida. On the way, we went past Fernando and Romy's cousin's house (Fernando and Lucia), and stopped in to say hi. Cousin Fernando was there, and he showed us some of his and Lucia's amazing photographs. He's also an actor, and general bohemian. Last night, they staged an impromptu street party in a small alley somewhere, where Lucia did some fire poi, Fernando showed his photos, and other acrobats and street artists did their thing. I made Cousin Fernando promise to call me the next time there is any fire spinning going on.
After comida, we headed to the Jardin for general playtime. There was a stage set up, and a banner for a Festival de Tunas tonight. Apparently, Tuna is a style of music, sort of like Gypsy Kings meets Mariachi. The bands are all string instruments - guitars, mandolins, ukulele, bass, etc. Bryce was off-kilter today, probably exhausted from his big play-day yesterday, so he went home with Sue, while I stayed and watched for a bit. Laura - a super nice petite Mexican mom I have met before at a few parties - was there with her kids, and our collective gang of kids played by the Parroquia while we talked and enjoyed the music. Lately, it seems like I have had few opportunities to have real Spanish conversation, so I was a little nervous to talk to her at first, but I got over it and we had a nice chat while enjoying the music.
The Tuna bands were fun. They had a traditional attire, some with tights and pouffy velour. The bands were all men, except for two with all women. The male bands seemed to have a stronger sound, although the sound system at the Jardin left a little to be desired. But it was fun to experience nonetheless.
All women Tuna band
Friday, November 20, 2009
Meeting Tjasa and Family
We've been in email and phone contact with Tjasa - a mom from San Francisco who is interested in doing the San Miguel de Allende experience with her kids. We have several mutual friends in common, and today we finally got to meet her and her family. It was one of those days that seemed rich for everyone involved.
Unlike us, Tjasa has some history with San Miguel. Her dad owns a house in town, and has been coming here for at least fourteen years. Tjasa and Scott - her husband - were married here. And she had visited a few times and already knows some people in town. But there's still a difference between vacationing, and actually living in a town - especially with her two kids Finn (7) and Remy (4). I was more than happy to show her our family's perspective.
I met Tjasa at her house, as well as Scott and Christopher, her dad, who is an architect. It seems like a lot of architects wind up buying homes here and doing some fun things with them, and Christopher's house was really cool. I especially liked how he used outdoor mirrors, which I had never seen before. Our landlord is also an architect, and we got to see his other house here in San Miguel, which was fun for different reasons. But I digress.
Anyway, after the house tour, I walked with Tjasa to the bus stop to pick up the kids. The from-Baltimore crew (Sam and Anne) called me while I was waiting, and were at a nearby yummy restaurant I like called Ten Ten Pie al Carbon, so I offered to grab their kids and take everyone over there. Sue called from her Spanish class, and arranged to meet us there as well. So once the kids got off the bus, Tjasa, myself and five kids walked over to Ten Ten Pie and met up with Sam and Anne. Sue arrived, we had some snacks and beer, and then we all headed over to Parque Juarez. At the time, I felt like Tjasa might have been overwhelmed, but we were only getting started.
Sam, Anne, Sue, Tjasa and me at Ten Ten Pie. Bryce took the photo.
As we arrived at Parque Juarez, 9 year old Griffin appeared on his bike, and told us he met this cool new kid Finn (Tasha's son). Once we got to the play area, the rest of Tjasa's family was there, as well as the from-Texas crew of Anne, Christopher, Griffin, William and Gavin. And then a couple of other families showed up, as well as a friend of Tjasa's we had met before. Sam and Anne brought margaritas and tequila, and we had an awesome family-fest in the park. Finn and Bryce made friends instantly.
As it got dark, we headed towards the Jardin and had dinner with Tjasa's entire family at Pueblo Viejo - one of our favorite and always reliable restaurants. Then, we took in the Jardin scene as the kids all played while we enjoyed the vendors, music and people milling about.
The whole afternoon was a perfect example of the warm and fuzzy feeling of living here, and it was great to share it with a really cool family considering moving here.
Unlike us, Tjasa has some history with San Miguel. Her dad owns a house in town, and has been coming here for at least fourteen years. Tjasa and Scott - her husband - were married here. And she had visited a few times and already knows some people in town. But there's still a difference between vacationing, and actually living in a town - especially with her two kids Finn (7) and Remy (4). I was more than happy to show her our family's perspective.
I met Tjasa at her house, as well as Scott and Christopher, her dad, who is an architect. It seems like a lot of architects wind up buying homes here and doing some fun things with them, and Christopher's house was really cool. I especially liked how he used outdoor mirrors, which I had never seen before. Our landlord is also an architect, and we got to see his other house here in San Miguel, which was fun for different reasons. But I digress.
Anyway, after the house tour, I walked with Tjasa to the bus stop to pick up the kids. The from-Baltimore crew (Sam and Anne) called me while I was waiting, and were at a nearby yummy restaurant I like called Ten Ten Pie al Carbon, so I offered to grab their kids and take everyone over there. Sue called from her Spanish class, and arranged to meet us there as well. So once the kids got off the bus, Tjasa, myself and five kids walked over to Ten Ten Pie and met up with Sam and Anne. Sue arrived, we had some snacks and beer, and then we all headed over to Parque Juarez. At the time, I felt like Tjasa might have been overwhelmed, but we were only getting started.
Sam, Anne, Sue, Tjasa and me at Ten Ten Pie. Bryce took the photo.
As we arrived at Parque Juarez, 9 year old Griffin appeared on his bike, and told us he met this cool new kid Finn (Tasha's son). Once we got to the play area, the rest of Tjasa's family was there, as well as the from-Texas crew of Anne, Christopher, Griffin, William and Gavin. And then a couple of other families showed up, as well as a friend of Tjasa's we had met before. Sam and Anne brought margaritas and tequila, and we had an awesome family-fest in the park. Finn and Bryce made friends instantly.
As it got dark, we headed towards the Jardin and had dinner with Tjasa's entire family at Pueblo Viejo - one of our favorite and always reliable restaurants. Then, we took in the Jardin scene as the kids all played while we enjoyed the vendors, music and people milling about.
The whole afternoon was a perfect example of the warm and fuzzy feeling of living here, and it was great to share it with a really cool family considering moving here.
The Revolution was not Televised
Today is the Mexican Revolution day (November 20). I'm working on developing my Fiesta-radar, but it's still not quite perfect.
This morning, I was working on a computer project on my patio. Most projects you can stop and return to, but this particular one was such that once it started, I had to finish, otherwise a portion of our entire business would be in a total state of disrepair. There was apparently a military parade today, and I was told that a lot of the local schoolkids marched as well. I heard it all from my outdoor office, but when I finally finished working and got into town, all the festivities were done. Oh well.
I figured that maybe there would be fireworks later, but that was also not to be. Nevertheless, we had a great day for completely different reasons.
Update: Scott sent me some great photos of the parade:
This morning, I was working on a computer project on my patio. Most projects you can stop and return to, but this particular one was such that once it started, I had to finish, otherwise a portion of our entire business would be in a total state of disrepair. There was apparently a military parade today, and I was told that a lot of the local schoolkids marched as well. I heard it all from my outdoor office, but when I finally finished working and got into town, all the festivities were done. Oh well.
I figured that maybe there would be fireworks later, but that was also not to be. Nevertheless, we had a great day for completely different reasons.
Update: Scott sent me some great photos of the parade:
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Fast and Furious
Laurel stayed home from school today, since she was at the tail end of her stomach virus. But as we all discovered, this particular one runs fast and furious, and we all got better within a day and a half. (Liz, Fernando and Romy also had the same bug.) Laurel was fine by the afternoon, so she went to her second horseback riding class with Bryce, Fernando and Romy.
Today they had quite a class - they did all the horse care, including taking the horses from the stables, brushing them, and even helping saddle them. And they all got to ride on a real English-style saddle today. The kids all had fun. Next week is their final class, so if everything works well I'll try to shoot some video of our equestrian kids.
Today they had quite a class - they did all the horse care, including taking the horses from the stables, brushing them, and even helping saddle them. And they all got to ride on a real English-style saddle today. The kids all had fun. Next week is their final class, so if everything works well I'll try to shoot some video of our equestrian kids.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Infermo
So I finally got one of the family bugs last night. Stomach and intestinal issues. Ugh. Sue and Bryce are all better though.
Bryce seems to be the family canary-in-a-coal-mine. He has gotten sick first, and then two other family members have followed.
I must have skipped a day or two of chili pepper eating...
Update: School just called. Laurel's got it too. Double ugh.
Bryce seems to be the family canary-in-a-coal-mine. He has gotten sick first, and then two other family members have followed.
I must have skipped a day or two of chili pepper eating...
Update: School just called. Laurel's got it too. Double ugh.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Kids go to Tuesday Market
This is Colleen and Jacqueline's last morning here, and the one thing left on our must-see list was Tuesday market. Sue got the stomach virus thing that Bryce had yesterday, so she was unable to go. And Bryce was complaining a little of intestinal issues, but I think it was also the fact that Laurel was missing school today to go to Tuesday market, and he was scheduled to have his own day next week. Nevertheless, both our kids stayed home from school, and Bryce rallied, so we all went to check it out - without Sue.
It's a great time for the whole family. Laurel likes to shop, and Bryce LOVES to shop. Colleen and Jacqueline did their fair share of purchasing too. We looked for a specific type of pottery for Colleen, and found one booth, but the vendor ladies couldn't give me a good answer if the pottery had lead in it, or if it was safe to put on the stove or oven, so we didn't buy any. The kids bought some toys. I got some fresh ceviche, chili and lime garbanzo beans, and a couple of other small things. We also got lunch at a taco stand where they made the tortillas fresh right there. Laurel ate a meat taco, Jacqueline had a quesadilla, and Colleen and I shared a couple of tacos - which were delicious. The girls were particularly enthralled with the tortilla making process - a woman would press the tortilla dough, then cook them right there, next to us, after which they would become a part of a yummy taco.
Girls at the taco stand
The whole scene is pretty crazy. There were musicians next to us playing songs, and all sorts of stuff for sale, as always. One new thing to me was the mobile beekeeper - this was a guy with a wheelbarrow containing honey, bee pollen, and honeycombs. Some of the bees from the original hive were tagging along.
Everyone had a great morning.
It's a great time for the whole family. Laurel likes to shop, and Bryce LOVES to shop. Colleen and Jacqueline did their fair share of purchasing too. We looked for a specific type of pottery for Colleen, and found one booth, but the vendor ladies couldn't give me a good answer if the pottery had lead in it, or if it was safe to put on the stove or oven, so we didn't buy any. The kids bought some toys. I got some fresh ceviche, chili and lime garbanzo beans, and a couple of other small things. We also got lunch at a taco stand where they made the tortillas fresh right there. Laurel ate a meat taco, Jacqueline had a quesadilla, and Colleen and I shared a couple of tacos - which were delicious. The girls were particularly enthralled with the tortilla making process - a woman would press the tortilla dough, then cook them right there, next to us, after which they would become a part of a yummy taco.
Girls at the taco stand
The whole scene is pretty crazy. There were musicians next to us playing songs, and all sorts of stuff for sale, as always. One new thing to me was the mobile beekeeper - this was a guy with a wheelbarrow containing honey, bee pollen, and honeycombs. Some of the bees from the original hive were tagging along.
Everyone had a great morning.
Entertaining our Friends
Colleen and Jacqueline are here for four days, which is a decent amount of time to have an adventure of their own. And having guests sort of makes us try to put together a "top ten" list of things we like to do to share. It can be a tricky task, since our tastes have changed over time. But here's some things that have been on the agenda:
During our stay, Bryce and Sue took turns being sick, so there were a few times when we split up. The girls did get to shop together, and I took Laurel, Jacqueline and Colleen out to dinner and late night Jardin-ing.
I asked our guests what they enjoyed. Colleen really liked just being in town, seeing school, and exploring with us, as well as seeing how we are living here (including happy hour at the house). Jacqueline liked the nature hike, and shopping. Having the kids run around freely in the Jardin was big too.
I think Laurel liked reconnecting with her San Francisco life via Jacqueline. The girls had a lot of fun together, even just hanging out at home.
Heres' some pix:
Laurel and Jacqueline in El Charco
Fernando, Bryce, Jacqueline and Laurel at the Jardin
- Shopping.
- Hot springs.
- Walk in El Charco Ingenio nature preserve.
- Get some great meals.
- Tuesday market.
- Visit the Mercado.
- Play in the Jardin.
- Play at Parque Juarez.
- Visit school.
- Just walk through town.
- Sunsets on the deck with cocktails.
During our stay, Bryce and Sue took turns being sick, so there were a few times when we split up. The girls did get to shop together, and I took Laurel, Jacqueline and Colleen out to dinner and late night Jardin-ing.
I asked our guests what they enjoyed. Colleen really liked just being in town, seeing school, and exploring with us, as well as seeing how we are living here (including happy hour at the house). Jacqueline liked the nature hike, and shopping. Having the kids run around freely in the Jardin was big too.
I think Laurel liked reconnecting with her San Francisco life via Jacqueline. The girls had a lot of fun together, even just hanging out at home.
Heres' some pix:
Laurel and Jacqueline in El Charco
Fernando, Bryce, Jacqueline and Laurel at the Jardin
Monday, November 16, 2009
Ghost Holiday
All the schools are closed today. Yesterday there were a ton of people in town, and lots of cars. But it's hard to figure out exactly why.
November 20 is a true holiday they tell me. I've been able to gather that it's to celebrate the Mexican revolution (rather than independence, which is a different holiday.) And apparently a lot of businesses and such close on Monday, rather than Friday November 20. I guess the Mexicans like to have their Mondays off, instead of Fridays, but this seems rather weird to me.
One of our taxi drivers called this weekend "La Puente". Maybe it's different from the revolution, but there's nothing special happening. Not even fireworks.
Quite a mystery...
November 20 is a true holiday they tell me. I've been able to gather that it's to celebrate the Mexican revolution (rather than independence, which is a different holiday.) And apparently a lot of businesses and such close on Monday, rather than Friday November 20. I guess the Mexicans like to have their Mondays off, instead of Fridays, but this seems rather weird to me.
One of our taxi drivers called this weekend "La Puente". Maybe it's different from the revolution, but there's nothing special happening. Not even fireworks.
Quite a mystery...
Friday, November 13, 2009
Goodies from Home
Colleen was kind enough to bring some things from home for us. Here's what we asked for:
- Sue: The mail, and a black turtleneck sweater.
- Bill: A pair of comfortable blue jeans.
- Bryce: A load of car magazines.
- Laurel: A box of Luna bars.
But the best thing was that every girl in Laurel's class wrote her a "we miss you" card. It was totally awesome, and made her feel really special (in spite of the fact that many girls couldn't spell "Laurel").
- Sue: The mail, and a black turtleneck sweater.
- Bill: A pair of comfortable blue jeans.
- Bryce: A load of car magazines.
- Laurel: A box of Luna bars.
But the best thing was that every girl in Laurel's class wrote her a "we miss you" card. It was totally awesome, and made her feel really special (in spite of the fact that many girls couldn't spell "Laurel").
Blog Fans
Colleen, being ever so gracious, remarked to me that she has really enjoyed this blog, and in talking to her today it was a little spooky how much she already knew about our life here. Then today, as I was getting a little poi exercise in a plaza by the house, a man on a roof waved to me and said "is that poi spinning?". I said yes, then he asked me "are you here for 129 days?". It turns out this was Jim from N.C., who somehow found the blog and has left some comments. He also knew some details of our life here, including the fact that school is sort of far away. I've also had some feedback from other people - directly and indirectly - who have said they are enjoying reading about our adventure.
It's a strange feeling having people know things about your life, that normally they wouldn't know. But it's also fun to hear people appreciating your work. I can imagine what a thrill it is for successful book authors to have thousands or millions of fans (not that I have those aspirations). But this is an unexpected side effect of the adventure here - a new feeling I've never had before. And hearing nice things from friends and strangers feels great. Thanks everyone!
It's a strange feeling having people know things about your life, that normally they wouldn't know. But it's also fun to hear people appreciating your work. I can imagine what a thrill it is for successful book authors to have thousands or millions of fans (not that I have those aspirations). But this is an unexpected side effect of the adventure here - a new feeling I've never had before. And hearing nice things from friends and strangers feels great. Thanks everyone!
Invitados #2 - Colleen & Jax's First Day
Last night our first visitors from the USA came to stay with us - Colleen and Jacqueline. Jacqueline and Laurel are friends from school in San Francisco, and she and her mom made the trek here to be with us for four days. So we not only get to play tourist but tour guide.
Bryce and Laurel had a short day at school, so we had a nice breakfast at home feasting on chilaquiles and pancakes that Rocio made the night before, and then headed over to school so our guests could get a feeling for Laurel's school experience. Laurel showed Jacqueline around, and Bryce and I did some clips for another episode of Bryce's Travel Channel. I think they enjoyed getting a first-hand view of school, as it is really different from back home.
Next, we went to Escondido, a hot springs resort we haven't yet visited. We started out in the nice, clean, warm outside pools, then took a break and got beer and snacks. Next, we explored the indoor "cave" pools. There are three interconnected pools - similar to La Gruta. After about 15 minute inside, they "turned on the water", and a big waterfall pipe dumped hot water into one of the pools from high above, and another room had a super-sized shower, which we all enjoyed.
The grounds weren't quite as nice as La Gruta, nor were there the kid-friendly slides like Xote, but it was a good in-between place for us all. The kids all thought the caves were cool.
Bryce in a cave
Laurel and Jacqueline by the lily pond
Part of the plan was to visit La Burger, a restaurant off the highway which was recommended to us by Roger, one of the school parents who also owns a restaurant. Roger told us this place had amazing hamburgers, and he was right on the mark. They operate some sort of special mesquite grill, and use top quality meats. Bryce not being much of a carnivore had an emapanda which he enjoyed, and the rest of us devoured our delicious burgers and unique vinegar fries.
The La Burger sign, or what you get if you eat too many of them
The special burger grill
Since we ate at about 4:30 or so, this was to be our comida dinner. Colleen asked us if we had kept to our "comida diet" (eating dinner in the late afternoon) since we've been here. Initially, this was the pattern, since it worked well with the hot afternoon weather, but since it has cooled off we've been gravitating towards three meals a day again. But whenever possible, I prefer the eat twice-a-day plan.
Finally, after returning home and chilling for a while, Colleen and Jacqueline finally got their first taste of town. Our only plan was to go the Jardin, and see what was happening. There was some church-sponsored concert going on, and lots of people milling about as is normal for a Friday night. The kids got Jardin dogs for dinner, and then ice cream from one of our favorite shops. We hung out by the Parroquia, then walked through the streets a bit and happened upon a wedding party with three mochigangas (giant puppets) and traveling musicians. The weather was warm, and the town is really pretty at night. So even though we didn't so anything spectacular, it was great just being in town at night, and I think Colleen and Jacqueline got a nice flavor of being here.
Bryce and Laurel had a short day at school, so we had a nice breakfast at home feasting on chilaquiles and pancakes that Rocio made the night before, and then headed over to school so our guests could get a feeling for Laurel's school experience. Laurel showed Jacqueline around, and Bryce and I did some clips for another episode of Bryce's Travel Channel. I think they enjoyed getting a first-hand view of school, as it is really different from back home.
Next, we went to Escondido, a hot springs resort we haven't yet visited. We started out in the nice, clean, warm outside pools, then took a break and got beer and snacks. Next, we explored the indoor "cave" pools. There are three interconnected pools - similar to La Gruta. After about 15 minute inside, they "turned on the water", and a big waterfall pipe dumped hot water into one of the pools from high above, and another room had a super-sized shower, which we all enjoyed.
The grounds weren't quite as nice as La Gruta, nor were there the kid-friendly slides like Xote, but it was a good in-between place for us all. The kids all thought the caves were cool.
Bryce in a cave
Laurel and Jacqueline by the lily pond
Part of the plan was to visit La Burger, a restaurant off the highway which was recommended to us by Roger, one of the school parents who also owns a restaurant. Roger told us this place had amazing hamburgers, and he was right on the mark. They operate some sort of special mesquite grill, and use top quality meats. Bryce not being much of a carnivore had an emapanda which he enjoyed, and the rest of us devoured our delicious burgers and unique vinegar fries.
The La Burger sign, or what you get if you eat too many of them
The special burger grill
Since we ate at about 4:30 or so, this was to be our comida dinner. Colleen asked us if we had kept to our "comida diet" (eating dinner in the late afternoon) since we've been here. Initially, this was the pattern, since it worked well with the hot afternoon weather, but since it has cooled off we've been gravitating towards three meals a day again. But whenever possible, I prefer the eat twice-a-day plan.
Finally, after returning home and chilling for a while, Colleen and Jacqueline finally got their first taste of town. Our only plan was to go the Jardin, and see what was happening. There was some church-sponsored concert going on, and lots of people milling about as is normal for a Friday night. The kids got Jardin dogs for dinner, and then ice cream from one of our favorite shops. We hung out by the Parroquia, then walked through the streets a bit and happened upon a wedding party with three mochigangas (giant puppets) and traveling musicians. The weather was warm, and the town is really pretty at night. So even though we didn't so anything spectacular, it was great just being in town at night, and I think Colleen and Jacqueline got a nice flavor of being here.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sunset Blogging
Tonight's sunset was beautiful. I snapped this photo just as the sun was disappearing behind the mountains:
Invitado #1
I was working on my porch today and had an unexpected guest. A large falcon came and landed on the railing next to me, and we hung out for a while. He was kind enough to wait around while I snuck back inside to get the camera. We spent about ten minutes together.
Panchito
It turns out his name is "Panchito" and was raised by the workers in the El Charco Jardin Botanico, so he's very people friendly. He hangs out in our neighborhood a lot, according to the Civil List.
Panchito - you're welcome back any time.
Panchito
It turns out his name is "Panchito" and was raised by the workers in the El Charco Jardin Botanico, so he's very people friendly. He hangs out in our neighborhood a lot, according to the Civil List.
Panchito - you're welcome back any time.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Cash Economy
One thing I've been meaning to write about is money differences between the USA and here. In San Francisco, we pretty much buy everything with a credit card, and then pay off the balance at the end of the month. In some ways, it's nice, in that you don't go to the ATM very often, and you can track and see how much you are spending for different things. It's also slightly horrifying to see what the total amount we spend is every month. Plus, the credit card companies get 2% of the proceeds, paid by the merchants.
Here, we pretty much use cash for everything. I don't think I've used a credit card at all since I've been here. We go to the bank machine maybe once every 5 or 6 days, and get the maximum 5000 pesos, or about $350 or so. Some of the restaurants take credit cards, but I haven't really been keen to use one. I think we even pay for school in cash.
There is a definite lack of credit here, and if you use credit, you're probably desperate. All home sales are cash, as mortgages are practically non-existent. If you do get a credit card, there is no limit to what the charges might be. Antonio told me he had a credit card that was charging him 42% yearly interest. He was able to renegotiate it down to 2% per month, which is still probably 30% per year when compounded. If you need a loan, you go to family or friends first, since the official money lenders seem to have no regulations.
I think the housing market here was fueled by the US housing bubble. Although you can't get a mortgage, a USA buyer could take out a second mortgage on a home in the USA to finance a purchase here. So there may still be a shakeout here for properties that Americans might buy, but probably not as extreme as we've seen in the USA. It's been interesting seeing what kinds of properties are for sale, and how much they are asking. There are places in town with $400,000+ lots, and million dollar plus homes. I see a lot of for-sale signs on houses here too.
Here, we pretty much use cash for everything. I don't think I've used a credit card at all since I've been here. We go to the bank machine maybe once every 5 or 6 days, and get the maximum 5000 pesos, or about $350 or so. Some of the restaurants take credit cards, but I haven't really been keen to use one. I think we even pay for school in cash.
There is a definite lack of credit here, and if you use credit, you're probably desperate. All home sales are cash, as mortgages are practically non-existent. If you do get a credit card, there is no limit to what the charges might be. Antonio told me he had a credit card that was charging him 42% yearly interest. He was able to renegotiate it down to 2% per month, which is still probably 30% per year when compounded. If you need a loan, you go to family or friends first, since the official money lenders seem to have no regulations.
I think the housing market here was fueled by the US housing bubble. Although you can't get a mortgage, a USA buyer could take out a second mortgage on a home in the USA to finance a purchase here. So there may still be a shakeout here for properties that Americans might buy, but probably not as extreme as we've seen in the USA. It's been interesting seeing what kinds of properties are for sale, and how much they are asking. There are places in town with $400,000+ lots, and million dollar plus homes. I see a lot of for-sale signs on houses here too.
Laurel's Play Date
Laurel mentioned a while back that one of the Mexican girls at school - Nicette - seemed to really like her. So last Sunday at the school event we talked to Nicette's mom (also Nicette), and arranged for a play date today.
Laurel was a little apprehensive at first, but she warmed up to it when Nicette mentioned something about it to her at school, and Nicette seemed excited to come over. We picked up both girls and Bryce from the bus, and brought them here. Rocio had made brownies, which was a good ice breaker. From there, the girls did some art projects, and generally hung out. Laurel is able to do some basic communication, and Nicette speaks less English than Laurel does Spanish, but it seems to be working out well. And it's a good experience for both of them.
I snuck a photo of the two of them doing a project together:
Laurel and Nicette
Laurel was a little apprehensive at first, but she warmed up to it when Nicette mentioned something about it to her at school, and Nicette seemed excited to come over. We picked up both girls and Bryce from the bus, and brought them here. Rocio had made brownies, which was a good ice breaker. From there, the girls did some art projects, and generally hung out. Laurel is able to do some basic communication, and Nicette speaks less English than Laurel does Spanish, but it seems to be working out well. And it's a good experience for both of them.
I snuck a photo of the two of them doing a project together:
Laurel and Nicette
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Settling In
We're starting to get to the state-of-mind here of being really settled in. Blogging has been lighter than normal lately, simply because we're doing a little less exploring, and more revisiting the places and doing things we like to do.
To shake things up a bit, I had scheduled a dentist teeth-cleaning for myself, and then a haircut. The dentist had to reschedule unfortunately, but Bryce, Laurel and myself all got haircuts. It was Laurel's second trip to Pako (a.k.a. "paco with a k"), and the first trip for myself.
Having a haircut is a great time to have a conversation, so I got to talk to Pako while he cut my hair. It turns out Pako is an artist, and a musician (like many other people here). He showed me his work, of which he had a couple of examples in the salon. It was really impressive. He is adept at recreating works of the renaissance masters, and well as his own original pieces. He also plays the violin, and is working on getting his band together. He asked if I was an artist, and I told him I juggle fire (which technically makes me an artist). He offered to play the violin for me while I did a fire show on the street, but I've heard the local police frown on fire spinners, so I think I'm going to pass.
The final part of our day was to try a new restaurant called Ole Ole. They specialize in grilled meats, and have a lot of bullfighting memorabilia. The food was nothing spectacular, but the decor was fun. Here's the best picture I have from inside:
Tienditas
As an entrepreneur, I'm always interested to see other people building businesses no matter how small. On my daily walks into town, I pass quite a few little stores (which I call Tienditas) which would never otherwise exist in the USA. If you own a house here, you likely have some road-front access, so why not open a little grocery store or something? There are no 7-Elevens here, but the gap is filled by the seemingly endless supply of mom-and-pop (or usually just mom) stores that sprout up everywhere.
We have four of these tienditas very close to our house. The other day Sue wanted some aspirin, and I was able to go and buy pills for one peso each. We also needed butter, but none of the stores had any. Go figure.
Anyway - here's a few tiendita photos I took recently to give you the flavor:
Papeleria - or paper store. There are lots of papelerias in town.
Fresh juices and more in the Centro - the smallest store I have ever seen.
One of the stores by our house. A little paint, some posters, and you're in business!
Groceries, toner cartridge refilling, and more!
We have four of these tienditas very close to our house. The other day Sue wanted some aspirin, and I was able to go and buy pills for one peso each. We also needed butter, but none of the stores had any. Go figure.
Anyway - here's a few tiendita photos I took recently to give you the flavor:
Papeleria - or paper store. There are lots of papelerias in town.
Fresh juices and more in the Centro - the smallest store I have ever seen.
One of the stores by our house. A little paint, some posters, and you're in business!
Groceries, toner cartridge refilling, and more!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Maestra Catalina
Our teacher, Maestra Catalina, has been great. She has taken the time to get to know Bryce and Laurel, she works incredibly hard, and the kids have learned a lot from her, and really like her. As do we. She is a terrific teacher.
Sue got her to pose for a photo tonight with her two kids. So now you know what she looks like:
Maestra Catalina and family
It turns out she knows Cuautli pretty well, and has been to a few events at his house and tepee. Part of the fun living in an interconnected community!
Sue got her to pose for a photo tonight with her two kids. So now you know what she looks like:
Maestra Catalina and family
It turns out she knows Cuautli pretty well, and has been to a few events at his house and tepee. Part of the fun living in an interconnected community!
School Event - Festival of Lanterns
This last week we received an invitation to attend our school's Festival of Lanterns, which is a yearly event they do to honor St. Martin. St. Martin was apparently kind to the poor and indigent, so what better role model for our Waldorf educated kids.
All the kids had made lanterns of various types - our second graders covered balloons in paper mache, and then cut out holes to hold a candle, and a pipe-cleaner handle. Other grades had different styles. We gathered in Parque Juarez at 6 PM, and after everyone got organized, Maestro Javier (the awesome music teacher), played a song about St. Martin and led everyone through some "surprises" in the park. At various stations, there were people handing out fruit, someone who appeared like a witch, a warrior on horseback, some dancing apparitions, and more. At the end, Maestro Thomas told the story of St. Martin (all in Spanish), of which I got a few bits and pieces, apparently relating to the various surprises in the park.
Maestro Thomas telling the story of St. Martin
The Warrior
As with all the school events, there is a lot of singing, and food for all to share afterward. It may seem sort of kumbaya, but it works to make everyone feel special and welcomed.
All of the families we have befriended were in the park tonight, so it was a nice sort of reunion too. Plus, I got to talk to the owner of Burrito Bistro, who it turns out has a kid at our school, and moved here from San Francisco 16 years ago. We also tried to arrange a play date for Laurel with one of the Mexican kids she's been trying to get to know, so hopefully we'll be able to pull that off. Sue and I haven't spoken much Spanish in the last couple of days, so we were a little rusty talking to the Mom, but we managed.
All the kids had made lanterns of various types - our second graders covered balloons in paper mache, and then cut out holes to hold a candle, and a pipe-cleaner handle. Other grades had different styles. We gathered in Parque Juarez at 6 PM, and after everyone got organized, Maestro Javier (the awesome music teacher), played a song about St. Martin and led everyone through some "surprises" in the park. At various stations, there were people handing out fruit, someone who appeared like a witch, a warrior on horseback, some dancing apparitions, and more. At the end, Maestro Thomas told the story of St. Martin (all in Spanish), of which I got a few bits and pieces, apparently relating to the various surprises in the park.
Maestro Thomas telling the story of St. Martin
The Warrior
As with all the school events, there is a lot of singing, and food for all to share afterward. It may seem sort of kumbaya, but it works to make everyone feel special and welcomed.
All of the families we have befriended were in the park tonight, so it was a nice sort of reunion too. Plus, I got to talk to the owner of Burrito Bistro, who it turns out has a kid at our school, and moved here from San Francisco 16 years ago. We also tried to arrange a play date for Laurel with one of the Mexican kids she's been trying to get to know, so hopefully we'll be able to pull that off. Sue and I haven't spoken much Spanish in the last couple of days, so we were a little rusty talking to the Mom, but we managed.
Sunday Morning - Breakfast and Mega
Today is the first day in a while that the whole family is 100%, so we celebrated by going out to breakfast at a new place called Cafe la Parroquia. Sue read good things about it in her guidebook, which mentioned "fresh juices and excellent pancakes", so we were sold. We got the last open table, which was quite a contrast from the only-table-in-the-restaurant we have gotten used to. Breakfast was excellent all the way around - Sue had huevos mexicanas with beans, Laurel had a cheese omelet, and Bryce and I had pancakes. They even brought us some yummy bread, with a great avocado salsa. Here's what it looks like on the inside:
Cafe Parroquia
During breakfast, Maestra Catalina called, and invited Laurel to come to school with her to help finish making lanterns for tonight's school event. So Sue delivered Laurel, and then met Bryce and I in the Jardin for a trip to Mega to stock up on food.
Mega is the nicest of the three American-style supermarkets here. It's huge, and has just about everything, including organic stuff. They also have fresh baked breads and tortillas, lots of pre-made goodies, an extensive pharmacy section, toys, clothes, and more - but it's primarily a food store. While I prefer to patronize the smaller merchants, there are times when you need to stock up or get hard-to-find things. Here's what Mega looks like:
Mega Outside
Inside Mega
The Centro of San Miguel itself is very home-grown, and one Starbucks is the only real American style chain I know of in town. But living here is a nice mix of local businesses with a few mega stores on the periphery, so you can pick and choose your shopping and cultural experiences to suit your needs.
Cafe Parroquia
During breakfast, Maestra Catalina called, and invited Laurel to come to school with her to help finish making lanterns for tonight's school event. So Sue delivered Laurel, and then met Bryce and I in the Jardin for a trip to Mega to stock up on food.
Mega is the nicest of the three American-style supermarkets here. It's huge, and has just about everything, including organic stuff. They also have fresh baked breads and tortillas, lots of pre-made goodies, an extensive pharmacy section, toys, clothes, and more - but it's primarily a food store. While I prefer to patronize the smaller merchants, there are times when you need to stock up or get hard-to-find things. Here's what Mega looks like:
Mega Outside
Inside Mega
The Centro of San Miguel itself is very home-grown, and one Starbucks is the only real American style chain I know of in town. But living here is a nice mix of local businesses with a few mega stores on the periphery, so you can pick and choose your shopping and cultural experiences to suit your needs.
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