Thank Yous

Finally, there are some special people who deserve thanks:

• Liz, Fernando and family: You guys were so great. Nuff said.
• Ann, Sam and family: You guys seemed like old friends from the moment we met, and are just really fun. We can't wait to reconnect.
• Maestra Catalina: What an awesome semester Bryce and Laurel had, primarily thanks to you. In particular, you always spoke to them in Spanish first, even when English would have been easier, and they learned a ton.
• The other teachers at school: You are all awesome people. Laurel and Bryce have grown so much, and really had fun.
• Mr. Jim: You challenged Bryce, yet he had fun, and he learned a ton of math and other useful thinking skills. You are a gem.
• Rocio: You won over our kids without speaking a lick of English, as well as Sue and me with your incredible cooking and hard work. You are also a gem.
• Our other friends: You all made this adventure fun. I hope we can reconnect with you in the not-too-distant future.
• Antonio: I really enjoyed our time together, and I appreciate how you brought us into a few bits and pieces of your world. And of course the help with my Spanish. Muchas gracias!

Epilogue: List of Irritations

No place is perfect, and there are a few things here that I could see getting more and more irritating over time.

• People are bad about littering. There's more trash here than anywhere in the USA.
• The sewer system in our neighborhood needs work. Often there was the faint stench of sewage as we walked into town.
• It was incredibly difficult to find decent clothes to buy. And besides Sue's San Miguel shoes, the shoe situation was just as bad.
• Internet was slower than in San Francisco. It was reliable except for a couple of times when we were without for a day or so each time. Uploading a large video file was nearly impossible, as the connection would reset before the upload had completed.
• Having drinkable tap water in the USA is something we take for granted. In Mexico, you need to use bottled water for everything that touches your mouth, including brushing your teeth.
• Our landlords strongly recommended we wash every fruit and vegetable we bought with a special solution, which we did.
  

Epilogue: List of Good Decisions

In retrospect, we made some great choices as far as getting set up in San Miguel. Here's some of the things we did right:

• The Waldorf school worked out great.
• We got an awesome math tutor for Bryce.
• Not having a car. I got to know Antonio really well, and had a lot of conversations with cab drivers.
• Despite being away from the center of town, our house was perfect. I loved the view.
  

Epilogue: List of Regrets

Thinking about our San Miguel experience, there are a few things I wish we had done differently. Here's my list:

• Live in the San Antonio area, or somewhere closer to the Centro.
  
• Bring a nice coat and sweater for going out.
• Get a Spanish tutor for the kids.
• Get involved in the community more, especially to interact with more Mexicans.
• Do more traveling to other places in Mexico.
• Bring a decent pair of gym shorts.
• Spend more money for a really awesome house. Our house was nice, and had a great view, but for another $1K/month we could have probably landed a much more spectacular home.
  

Epilogue: List of Favorite Things

So recap of our adventure would be complete without a top-ten list of favorite things about being here. So here goes:

1. The Jardin (any time).
2. Tuesday market.
3. The hot springs (Xote and La Gruta in particular.)
4. La Burger.
5. Speaking Spanish.
6. Fresh squeezed juices everywhere.
7. Not having a car.
8. Our school.
9. Our great friends, and all the cool people we met.
10. The weather.

Laurel's Exit Interview

Laurel and I had a quick session in front of the video camera on our last day. We did one in English, and then I asked her if she'd like to do one in Spanish. She agreed, and what you see below is our conversation.

This gives you a rough idea of what she learned as far as Spanish goes. I think she knows more than she lets on here, but despite not having any formal tutoring, I think her Spanish is pretty good. She even corrected me on a couple of things.

Here's Laurel in her own (Spanish) words:

Bryce's Exit Interview

Bryce and I sat together for a quick video talk to get his thoughts on our Mexican adventure.

Here's what he had to say:

Departure Day

Sigh. It is our final day here.

This morning we went out for our final Chocolate y Churros breakfast, and then ventured into the Jardin to take one last look around. Christmas time is coming, and they had a neat manger scene set up to get the town into the mood:


Manger scene in the Jardin

We left about three hours to finish packing, and completed the task in two and a half. Sue bought some cool-but-breakable things, which required extra special organizing. We started our trip with seven suitcases, and finished with eight, after leaving some of our old clothes behind.

If you're considering a four month adventure like ours, here's what it looks like to move:


Eight bags, and four carry-ons

Another interesting event: about an hour ahead of the scheduled pickup, Antonio called us and asked us to come outside. He was unable to take us to the airport today because he had blinded himself doing some welding in his house without the proper safety gear. He said this had happened before, and should be able to see again in three days or so. He was bummed that he wouldn't be able to send us off.

Victor - one of his drivers - took us to the airport. We arrived plenty early, and arrived back in San Francisco at 1 AM. The kids did great, and they've earned another adventure in the future.

Final Fiesta

As we're about to leave San Miguel to return to the USA, it seems we can't get enough of our friends, and they can't get enough of us. Sam and Ann called today, and offered to have a goodbye party for us at their house. So after doing some preliminary packing and final gift shopping in the morning, we regrouped and headed over to their house.

It was a nice finale to our time here - all of our main group of friends (except for Ann-from-Texas, although Christopher appeared later) were there. We had 14 kids and about the same number of adults. Sue even got a rendition of Happy Birthday sung to her.


Happy kids



Happy adults



Happy us


Bryce with his best buds Fernando and Reddy in the Jacuzzi

Thank you Sam and Ann for being such great new friends, as well as terrific party hosts.

Last Day of School Pastorela

Today is our last day of school. And the kids have a play to put on. Laurel is calm, cool and collected, but Bryce is showing signs of upcoming stage fright as we get them ready for school in the morning. Plus the emotions of leaving our new friends shortly are probably affecting Bryce, too. This is going to be a big day.

The second grade play is a pastorela - a re-enactment of Joseph and Mary's quest to find a place to stay when Jesus was being born. In town, they have posadas, where people open up their houses and invite groups of strangers in to pray, and then to receive food and candy. The school is great about following in the local traditions, and this fits perfectly.

The second graders have been chosen to be the shepherds, Joseph, Mary and the gang. Laurel got to be Mary, which is a pretty plum part. Bryce in all his cuteness got to be a sheep. He is a darling sheep, too. For the show, the second graders go around to all of the classrooms, asking to be let in to spend the night. All the classrooms deny them entry, until they reach the dome classroom where they are taken in. A song accompanies each episode. It's pretty cute.

Laurel/Mary was supposed to be riding a real donkey throughout all of this, but unfortunately the donkey was sick. Bummer. That would have made for a great Kodak moment.

Once inside the dome, the second graders do a ten minute play. Earlier that day, Bryce was teased by some of the first graders about his costume, and given all the emotions and his stage fright, makes him a bit of a wreck. Nevertheless, he rallies and does his sheep part like he's supposed to. Laurel basically has to look stoic. Neither one of them has any lines, but they do sing. For a grand finale, all the second graders play a song on the recorder. The play went well.

Afterward, Maestra Catalina has the group play a goodbye song for Bryce and Laurel, and acknowledges our whole family. That was really nice.


Laurel as Mary


Bryce the Frightened Sheep


Bryce rallies and plays the recorder

After the play, they had piñatas for each grade, and hot cider for the parents.

When the school day had ended, we went to the Xote water park with Sam and Anne, Liz and Fernando, Debra and all their kids. Then to a microbrewery for dinner and beer. It was relaxing, and the kids all had a great time playing.

It was a really nice way to end the school year. And I'm sure it's a day both kids will remember for a long time.

Virgin of Guadalupe Week

This week marks the last fiesta in town before we depart. The Fiesta of the Virgin of Guadalupe is an important celebration in Mexico. She is the Mexican version of the Virgin Mary, and serves as a conduit for bringing Catholicism to the Mexican people, as the story is a blend of Aztec imagery and Christian miracles. (You can read the story here.)

Even though December 12 is the "official" day, the celebration extends throughout the week. The mercado in the center of town has a big shrine dedicated to Her, and some houses in town also have murals of the Virgin. A couple days this week, fireworks started going off at 6 AM, and they also had some nighttime shows as well.


Virgin of Guadalupe shrine at the mercado


A monument on a house

I asked Antonio why the celebration occurred on different days in different towns. It turns out there aren't enough priests to properly emcee the festivities everywhere at once, so they travel to various towns throughout the week. We've seen sporadic celebrations for the past six days, with the finale tonight.

Unfortunately we missed the last big fireworks show. And though we've seen plenty of others, I'm a little sad to have missed it. I'll probably have to wait until July 4 to see fireworks again.

A Five Minute Taxi Ride To Go 60 Feet

We met Sam and Anne for dinner tonight to go to one of our favorite places - Cafe Iberico. This is a Spanish restaurant in their neighborhood which has really good tapas, and amazing desserts. It's one of our top dining spots.

Sam and Anne's house is in a walled-off neighborhood called Barrio Aldea, and their house is at the very end. They also have a back door, which goes out to the street that Cafe Iberico is on. It's like living in two different places in town at the same time.

A locksmith came by today to make the back door more secure. We met Anne at her house, and then exited the back door to go to Cafe Iberico, where we met Sam. After dinner, we walked back to their back door, where they discovered the locksmith had made their door so secure that they couldn't get back in. So we hailed a cab coming up the street, and we piled in to take the journey to their front door. Given the layout of the neighborhood, it literally took us five minutes to get to their front door.

I think that's the record for the longest cab ride to go the shortest distance.

Panchito Returns for a Snack

Panchito, our neighborhood falcon, came back again today, and made a noise like he was hungry. Sue bought more raw hamburger yesterday, as as such, Panchito was treated to another feast. He let Sue get really close to him, and even let her pet him on the head once.


Sue and Panchito Bonding

Turns out Panchito is a caracara - a type of falcon, which also used to be known as the Mexican eagle.

We are going to leave some hamburger meat in the freezer, and a note for the next renters to take care of Panchito.

Eurhythmy Presentation

For our second to last day of school, the entire student body put on a Eurhythmy presentation at a local theater in town. Eurhythmy is defined as "a system of harmonious body movement to the rhythm of spoken word," and is a basic pillar of Waldorf education. If you were to take beat poetry and make it into a musical, you'd get something close to what we saw. It's hard to describe, but the show was cool. All 100 or so seats in the theater were filled with parents and some curious onlookers, including John and Emily's family.

Andreas, the amazing musician who played at Roger's blues party, was also there, and I talked with him for a while afterward. He said he was moved by the children's singing, which was pretty cool to hear from a musical wonder like himself.

The kids were excited, and they all did great.

Here's the entire thing (about 30 minutes or so):

Eurhythmy Presentation on Vimeo.

Infrastructure Breakdown

When everything works as it should, you take it for granted. But when it doesn't, you appreciate it more.

Today we have a couple of changes to our normal everyday routine:

1. Our internet is down. Actually, every cable internet customer in San Miguel is down. DSL still works, so I'm at a new internet cafe catching up.

2. Margarita's was not here today. Her husband has been sick for a while, and it appears this may be his last day on earth. We can certainly deal, but we feel sad for her. She's been pretty stoic about his illness.

John-the-architect's Home Building Adventures

When Sue visited San Miguel last March to check it out, she stayed with John and Emily. Emily is the sister of a good friend of hers, and they have two girls 7 and 9. John and Emily were here for three months, and we came in large part because of them.

Tonight, we reconnected with John and Emily, as they are here for four weeks for the Christmas break. We met them at a friends house, just down the street from where they are staying. John-the-architect and Helle (his wife), built a beautiful house in our neighborhood with a pool, elevator, hot tub, and a great view of the center of town. As I mentioned before, San Miguel seems to be an attractive place for architects to build second homes.


Hanging out in John and Helle's architectural masterpiece

Building a house here, and maintaining it, isn't without its challenges, as I learned from John-the-architect. The good contractors are very good, and the bad ones are very bad. The house has been operational for a year or so, and in general everything works well, although John-the-architect narrated some tales of pain to me. Examples:

• The elevator is still unfinished. He paid for the whole elevator, but got the shaft. (John's joke.)
• The jacuzzi-on-the-roof had some creative plumbing. The PVC water pipes were run through the chimney. It wasn't until they lit a fire and saw that the chimney had no draw were they able to discover this. Apparently the pipes pretty much blocked the whole chimney flow, and why would you put meltable PVC pipes in a chimney anyway? The plumbing had to be redone.
• Their housekeeper decided to move in when they were away. She had some parties, and regularly used their car. She dented it three times. She still has a job.
  

Despite all that, the home is beautiful. For me, I'd rather rent.

Mr. Jim

As a supplement to the school curriculum, we've looked for a math tutor for Bryce, and found a gem in our Mr. Jim. Jim and Ann are in their 70's, and have been involved in education all their lives. They have been teaching and tutoring for most of their lives, and are super knowledgeable.

Bryce and Mr. Jim have been working together twice a week for the past two months or so. They play math games, work on addition and multiplication, and finish with a game of chess. They really seem to enjoy each other when I come in to pick them up. Plus, Mr. Jim has a wonderful little white poodle named Dulce, who Bryce gets to pick up, hug, and take for little walks. Bryce has learned a ton, and according to Mr. Jim has advanced beyond his grade level.

Today was Bryce's last session with Mr. Jim. We thanked him and exchanged presents. Mr. Jim is yet another nugget in San Miguel - for the right, lucky kids.


Bryce with Mr. Jim

Scavenger Hunting

Let's face it - shopping is fun. Especially when everything is so inexpensive here. And when you're trying to find esoteric things, you have to ask around a little bit, which adds to the language challenge.

My hardest task was to find white gas for a few of the fire spins I did here. Today, Sue was able to accomplish purchasing the following:

• White tights for the school play.
  
• Gold paper to construct a star for the play.
  
• Shoe repair to fix Bryce's new shoes.
• Chocolate truffles for gifts.
• Cheese and bread for a cocktail party.

Especially fun was going to the chocolate shop. Johfrej is a high end truffle store, where we got gift boxes for our various teachers. Oh - I had to get a few for us, too. Yum.


Johfrej chocolate shop

Panchito's Back

Panchito the falcon came back for a visit today as I was working on my deck. We bought 100 grams of hamburger for him yesterday in hopes that he would return, and sure enough, he landed on the railing just now. I fed him about half - the size of a small mouse - and he ate it all.

Not sure if I should give him more - it would be great if he would come back again tomorrow, and I want to be ready with a snack for him just in case.

Awww... what the heck. I just went back in to put the rest of the hamburger on a plate. And he ate it all. Poor guy must be hungry. At least he was able to pose for a few more photos before he flew off...


Panchito chowing down


Panchito posing

Canyon Hike

Clay-from-Colorado called me up and asked if I wanted to join him and Midnight - their black lab mix - on a hike today. Being from Colorado springs, their family are avid hikers, and they have been exploring some of the areas around town. We parked behind El Secreto, one of the new developments, and did a great walk up a cool cactus canyon, then over the lip and back down the ridge. About two hours in all. Most of the time we were concept-walking - just heading in the general direction we wanted to go without a map. But we found our car and all was well. There was a cool, old dam-like thing we walked past, and a few other old structures. It was great to be enjoying the outdoors.

One bummer though - I forgot my camera.

Next we went to the Tuesday market for one last time, and got a melon Agua Fresca from my favorite stand, and then tried a new taco stand called Canastaquiz, where we got 5 tacos for $1.20. The tacos had meat and beans inside, and the shell was made from a yummy tamale-like tortilla. Lots of other people were there, so it passed my food safety test.

Clay has a bad back, and it's hard for him to sit for long periods of time, so I got to drive his car for a bit. It's only the second time in four months here I have driven a car. I don't really miss it.

Sunday Evening with Friends

Once the kids returned from their nature walk with Rocio, the three families came up with a plan to revisit La Burger for Sunday dinner. Sam and Anne had never been there, and it was a perfect place to spend the afternoon. We had beer and wine, and the kids patiently did some art projects while awaiting their food.

As usual, the burgers were amazing, and Sam and Fernando got one of their steaks which was superb. The kids ran around out back of the restaurant when they finished, and we hung out and talked. A few other families some of us knew were there as well, so we had a few drop-by visitors. Like I said, there are a lot of interconnections in this town.

After dinner, we came home and then went to the El Charco Ingenio nature preserve for a stargazing event. December 13 is a good meteor shower night, and although the visibility wasn't great, two shooting starts were spotted. (A shooting star in Spanish is called estrella fugaz - literally "fugitive star". How cool is that.) A professional astronomer was talking about the shooting stars, and they had some telescopes set up as well, along with a bonfire. It was a cool event.

Since the next day is a school day, we came home around 8:30 and everyone but me went to bed right away. Liz and Fernando's family spent the night as well.

Sam and Anne's family, and Liz and Fernando's family, are both awesome. The kids all play great with Bryce and Laurel, especially the eight-year-olds Reddy and Fernando, and having both families to be with at the same time was a real treat. As were on our last week here, it's painfully obvious that we're really going to miss these guys.

Roger and Rosanna's Blues Party

When I called Roger and thanked him for the school thank-you party at his house a couple of nights ago, he said "Party? That wasn't a party. That was just a get-together." He wasn't kidding.

Today they had a brunch fundraiser at their amazing house for the school and some of his musician friends. They put it together in a couple of days, and must have had 70 people, with plenty of food and a great blues band, including one of the amazing guys who played at his house the other night. This was a party.

As it was mostly an adult event, we had Rocio come and watch our kids, along with Sam and Anne's three kids, Fernando and Liz's two kids, and Nicholas, Adrianna's son - eight in all. We got to enjoy the food, company, music, and their amazing house during the daytime. Plus, Sue won a ceramic painted sun in the raffle. Not bad.


Debra, Liz, Fernando, Sam, Anne and Sue on the deck


Our host, Roger


Rosanna, our hostess

Not to be outdone by the parents, the kids had a rager of their own. Rocio made them pancakes, they watched a Spy Kids movie, and then had some kind of crazy tag game going on inside the house as I returned. But to top it off, Panchito the neighborhood falcon, was trapped in our dining room. I never quite got the story of how he got in there, and Rocio was scared of him, but I was able to open the patio door and show him the exit.


Panchito hanging our in our dining room

Rocio - bless her - then took all the kids for a 45 minute walk to the El Charco Ingenio nature preserve up the street while the adults just chilled and talked in our living room. Then Rocio cleaned up as we all exited to our next adventure. She is amazing.

Laurel's Artwork

One of the things we hoped Bryce and Laurel would get out of their experience here is for their artistic side to develop. Between being in an artistic community, and going to an artsy Waldorf school, this seems to have worked. They are also merging the Silicon Valley life they led previously into their work, often giving it a techie flavor.

Bryce has always been into doing art projects, but Laurel has been more controlled and precise with hers. Laurel seems to have opened up a lot more artistically in the past few months. Bryce is still a prolific paper electronic gadget creator.

And Sue is the queen of art projects, which doesn't hurt either. The house has tons of art supplies.

Here's some examples of Laurel's latest artwork:


Laurel with her "spy glove"


Laurel's "naciemento" - Joesph, Mary and Jesus


Snow globe penguin


Laurel's 3-D cartoon lettering name sculpture

Boys Day

Sue and Laurel went to a horse-riding exhibition today, so Bryce and I got to hang out. It was warm again, so it seemed like a great day to go to Xote - the nearby water park. And it's always more fun with a friend, so we walked over to Bryce's friend Reddy-from-Baltimore's house to see if he wanted to join us. Reddy and his parents were game, so we spent the afternoon at Xote, and Bryce had a great time playing with his friend. Reddy came back to our house afterwards, and the whole family had dinner with him.

Reddy is a great kid, and gets along well with both Laurel and Bryce. We'll all miss him when we return to the states.

Many Jobs. No Job.

Sam observed the other day that the Americans here fall into two categories. The ones that have been here a long time seem to have many jobs. One family we know runs a B&B, a home accessories business, an organic farm and store, and is building a housing development outside of town. Another runs a bar and does property management. Another runs a restaurant and a bath supply store. I think it's hard to earn money here for Americans, especially at the scale we are used to, so many locals try several different things.

The more recent arrivals, with me being the exception, have no job, and are living off of savings or retirement or something. They are trying to figure out how to "make it work".

I guess a third category is the traveling-husband family, where hubby stays in the USA and works while mom and the kids are living here. The husband arrives for a week or so every five or six weeks. I have met a couple of families that are taking that approach.

I'm lucky. The Internet has made it possible for me to do this adventure, but it's strange how I haven't met anyone else here who works over the Internet.

Laurel and Sue's Rodeo Event

Sue and Laurel went to a pseudo rodeo today, with our friends Debra and Emmaline. The event was a fundraiser at a private ranch, with barrel racing, cow herding contests, miniature ponies, carriage rides and more.

Laurel's favorite event was the cow herding. There were ten cows, each with a number from zero to nine. The announcer called out a number, and the team of riders had to get that one from the pack, put it in a pen, and then get the next numbered cow, until all ten were in their proper pens. The event was timed, and the winner was the one with the most cows.

Laurel had fun meeting a miniature pony named "Dulce,", and also enjoyed a carriage ride.

Here's some photos Sue took:




Barrel Racing


Carriage Rides


Laurel and a miniature pony

Anne and Sam's Housewarming Fiesta

On Friday night, Sam and Anne-from-Baltimore threw a housewarming party in their new home for all their friends. Not only is it a great house, but it works well as a party place too. Sam is really into music, and so we surprised him by hiring the awesome mariachi band we saw over Thanksgiving. He was tending the fire as the musicians walked in and started playing, and from the look on his face it appeared he thought someone changed the music in the CD player. The mariachis were a hit.

Here's a rather blurry photo I took. Despite the lack of clarity, I think it conveys my state of mind after the third margarita:


The party on the patio

As the party was winding down, Sue went home, and I joined a crew of people to go to a local bar called Drink that one of the guests just opened. Drink is a really tiny bar, specializing in hard-to-find beer and wine. I tried some interesting Mexican micro-brews, and socialized until about 2 AM or so.

So tonight we met some new folks, and reconnected with our stable of friends. San Miguel really is a small town, and it's amazing how we are no more than two degrees separated from all the Americans in town, as well as many Mexicans. It feels like we really are starting to spread our roots just as we are about to leave.

Mexican Idol update: Sam took this video at the party, featuring Fernando's soon-to-be-legendary singalong with the Mariachis.

78 Degrees

Today was 78 degrees, As was yesterday and the day before. And it's a relatively dry, comfortable heat.

Nice.

Roger and Rosanna's Thank You Party

Roger and Rosanna are two parents who have been really active at our school, and as a thank-you for the volunteers for the school Christmas festival, they had a party at their house. When we first got here, I had figured out that this couple knew how to throw an amazing fiesta, and we weren't disappointed.

They live near us in a nice neighborhood called Arcos Atascadero. They have been living in San Miguel for thirty years, and bought the land for their house in the 1970s. Little by little, they have created a magnificent living space. It's hard to describe - it's more than a house, and kind of a mansion. They run it as a bed and breakfast, and have their own living area, and a common area for their guests to share, which is also the party room. Roger runs a business selling high-end house accessories, and his work is really cool and can be found everywhere in the house. The place is stunning.


Guests gathering on the deck

They had some great appetizers, margaritas, and Rosanna made a Thai dinner (with some Mexican ingredients) which was quite good. Plus, they had a couple awesome musicians playing for us. The one guitarist is described as the "Mexican Bob Dylan", and the bass player plays with Doc Severinsen (from the Johnny Carson show) in town.


Amazing musicians

Rosanna is Mexican, and Roger is American, and the guests were a mix of Americans and Mexicans too. I'm getting used to switching back and forth between English and Spanish, although I can still get tongue-tied in Spanish on occasion. The mixed American/Mexican nature of being here is one of the things that makes San Miguel so special. I'm not sure there is any place quite like this in the whole world.

Crystal Canyon

The kids told us that they were going to do another trip to the crystal canyon near their school this week, and we got the OK from Maestra Catalina to come out to school and join them. This is an old riverbed that has tons of geodes for the kids to find, as well as some neat nooks to climb. It's a magical place we had heard about from other kids who had been to our school when we first got here, so Sue and I really wanted to check it out.

Sue brought a spade and a hammer to help with digging and cracking open the geodes. Some kids (like Laurel) were obsessed with gathering as many geodes as possible. Other kids (like Bryce) just wanted to climb. Some kids did both. And while we were there, a rancher and a herd of cows appeared, which interested the kids too. I got to talk to Maestra Catalina for a while, and learned more about what happens in the second half of second grade and third grade.

The kids were all well behaved. And it was neat to see how everyone acted with their classmates. This is a really fun school, and both of our kids have blossomed here in their own ways. I hope this experience will be one they treasure for the rest of their lives.


Fernando showing his geodes


Climbing in the canyon


Cow-chasing kids departing

Me Day

The kids went off to school, and Sue took a trip to the nearby city of Celaya with Liz and Debra, so I was on my own today. Having finished a work project, I felt like I deserved a little reward. So, after doing some work in the morning, the rest of my day went like this:

1. Walked into town, and had lunch at a taco stand I have been meaning to try. Had three tacos: mushroom, pollo mole and a kind of pork. All were delicious. Drank a bag of fresh squeezed OJ for dessert.

2. Took a taxi out to La Gruta hot springs to soak. When I arrived, a massage therapist had set up, so after half an hour of bathing I got a one hour massage, and then returned to the baths a second time. Ahhhhhh.....

3. Picked up the kids from school, and after walking Bryce to his math tutor, practiced poi in Parque Juarez for an hour or so.

4. Picked up Bryce and we got platano licuados (basically a banana milkshake without the ice cream) at the mercado. Bryce loves these, and I think they are tasty too. It's a nice bonding time for us.

4. Went out to dinner with Sue at a new place (for us) called The Restaurant. This place is the closest thing to California cuisine we've tried in San Miguel. We ordered two appetizers - which were good - and I got a salmon trout with a cauliflower, almond, brown butter and curry sauce for my entree, which was awesome. The ambiance inside was really nice too.

Hot springs, exercise, bonding with my son, good food, date night and a massage - my kind of day.

More About Antonio

Having driven with Antonio over the last few days, I learned a couple of interesting things about him and his family:

1. He drinks 6 liters of coca-cola a day. Yikes! But he doesn't eat sweets.

2. We talked about his sons. I asked him when his oldest son was going to finish school (he's studying some form of medicine). Antonio didn't know. He said that once your kids get married, you are supposed to stop asking them questions about their life. If they want to volunteer information, that's great, but inquiring about things to your married offspring is seen as intruding on their new family. I asked if this was something with his family, or a pervasive cultural thing, and he said it's a common practice. Makes sense.

I've learned a lot from Antonio.

Fireworks are Back!

We have started to see fireworks again today. Good news, right? Well, sort of. The only downside is that they started at 6 AM, and went on for about an hour. And these are the loud kind - not the pretty flowery ones.

Tonight I'm starting to see some of the kind I like every so often. No organized shows, but every once in a while one will appear from my window. I think the early morning event announced the start of the Fiesta de Guadelupe, which climaxes on Dec. 12. This is supposed to be an important celebration, so we'll see what happens in the next few days...

Update: As I finished writing this post, a mini grand finale appeared over town. Awesome.

Laurie and Karen's Farewell

Not everyone you meet here is American or Mexican. There are a few Europeans, South Americans and a smattering of other nationalities. One interesting couple we have spent a little time with are Laurie and Karen from the U.K. They have a couple of small kids with adorable English accents.


Laurie and Karen

They had an interesting living arrangement here - they had separate houses, yet would do things together and take the kids around a lot. Laurie was doing some acting here, and Karen is an artist and focused on weaving. They are both very nice.

Today we picked the kids up at the bus stop, and went for comida at Ten Ten Pie, one of our favorite restaurants near the daily drop-off. Bryce and Laurel's friend Reddy showed up while we were ordering, and hung out with us for a while. Eight year old Reddy is one of the from-Baltimore kids, and is a classmate of our kids at school. He gets along splendidly with both Bryce and Laurel. Bryce enjoys his boy-energy, and Laurel and Reddy are intellectual equals, which is refreshing for Laurel. He just wandered over from his house, about ten minutes away, and knew we would be there. His mom called and made sure he was there, but it was pretty cool to see him being so independent and making his way over to be with us. He is a super nice kid.

After lunch, we went over to Sam and Anne's house with Reddy, and I finally got the tour of their new house. Sam is a history buff (and ex-eighth grade history teacher), and the house is perfect for him. It feels slightly medieval. It's beautiful inside and out.

The plan was to go to Laurie and Karen's for a party. They were leaving to return to England the next day, and wanted to have a farewell party at their house. About thirty adults and kids were there, and I got to meet some new parents from our school - mostly from the younger grades. They had a piñata, and Laurie bought some homemade bottle rockets which he set off as well. They had pizza, beer and wine. The kids and adults had a great time.

So ended another social day here. Anne and I were discussing why it's so comfortable here and easy to meet people, and how everyone is so nice. We're a little puzzled as to why this is. One theory is that the act of taking the leap and living in Mexico with your family creates a common bond, and acts as a sort of filter for like-minded people. Another theory is that we Americans are a minority, which may also bring us together. Whatever the magic is, it's working. And sadly we have just twelve days left to enjoy it.

Bill's School Fundraising Experience - Bazaar Navideno

As the day of our school's annual Christmas fundraiser drew nearer, it became clear to Sue that they needed lots of help. So who better to turn to first and foremost than her husband?

My best fund-raising talent in an artsy Waldorf world turns out to be poi spinning. So the week before the event, we went to the local fabric store and bought 100 meters of shoelace, five square meters of fabric, as well as 150 plastic bags, 2 bags of rubber bands, and 5 kilos of rice. The plan was for me to man a booth - with a little help - and demonstrate poi spinning while also helping people make their own. We did a few prototypes, which actually came out really good, and left the rest to be built at the fair. I was inclined to just make them all ahead of time, but given the school's emphasis on "hand work," I was persuaded to make this a crafts and poi project. I also brought my fire spinning gear and two liters of white gas to do a fire show or two.

Bryce's friend Nicholas spent the night, so I was able to miss out on the early setup experience, and watch the kids for the morning. We got to the fair at 11:00 or so, and got the poi table all set up which wasn't hard. I was called upon for a fire show to initiate the fair, which went off fine. We had maybe twenty people watching, and this got a few kids interested in the poi thing.

During the course of the day, I spent most of my time helping kids make their own poi, and occasionally demonstrating some moves as well. Laurel and Fernando have learned the "three beat weave" move, which is impressive - especially for eight-year-olds, and they were hanging around the booth spinning, which helped get more people over. And then once a few kids learned that you could take this talent and then light it on fire, we got more and more interest. All in all, we probably sold 50 sets of poi, which isn't too bad.

Lucia - Fernando's twenty-something cousin and also a poi spinner - was helping at the booth, and she brought her fire gear as well. We planned a second fire show for the afternoon, which got the kids excited. A Mexican Waldorf mom named Amanda is also a fire spinner, and I chatted with her about the upcoming show. It turns out she had her fire gear in the car, and asked if she could spin fire with us. Of course! Now we had three performers for the afternoon show. We were scheduled to perform at 4:00 or so, but Amanda hadn't yet returned, so we decided to go after the guitar player, and be the final entertainment act of the day.

While were getting ready, Amanda asked Arnulfo (Fernando's cousin from the Fire Fiesta two nights ago) if he would drum for us. Of course! Now our act was really coming together - albeit spontaneously.

When our turn came, we had about 80 people waiting to see the fire show. Arnulfo did a five minute drum jam, and then we started. Amanda went first, then Lucia joined her, and then I jumped in when Amanda's fire started to go out. The crowd was into it, and it went well. Amanda went back out after Lucia's fire went out, and then I exited when my time has expired. While Amanda was performing for a second time, a woman came up to me and asked if she could borrow my Poi. Why not? She got my gear ready, then lit them and jumped into the act. She was awesome! (It was especially awesome to see her use unfamiliar gear out of the blue.) Our fly-by-night fire show was a huge hit, and was a great cap to the fair. Here's a video Sue shot:



As a community event, the fair went over really well. The entertainment was really good (besides the fire show). There were about 35 booths, some parent or teacher initiated, and some outside vendors who donate 20% of their sales to the school. As far as a fundraising success goes, it could probably have done better, but this is Mexico. The numbers are pretty amazing/horrifying. Laurel's school in San Francisco has 400 kids, and they raise $250,000 at their fair. This school has 100 kids, and their goal was to raise $2,000, which they probably achieved. The pricing for my booth was determined in advance - 15 pesos per set of poi, or $1.20. So I worked from 11 to 6:30 and raised $60 or so. The school had a hard time getting volunteers, which could be cultural, lack of leadership, or some other factor. The Americans in general were more present in the parent volunteer corps, and Liz and Fernando did an incredible amount of work. Sue is still decompressing, as she helped plan this for several weeks, and has a lot of ideas to make the whole thing work better.

(The Hillers - Sam and Anne-from-Baltimore - manned a booth selling books. The house they just bought had about 100 John Grisham type books that came with it, so they sold them at the fair. Sam named their booth Hillers' Cheap Thrillers.)

Overall it was a great experience. For me, it was neat to see the kids get excited about my passion of poi spinning. And it felt good to help the school, as well as get the experience of fundraising in a different language and culture.

It's tempting to just write a check if I were to do this again, but I think I would still do the same thing. Some of the local Mexican kids bought poi from the fair, and for them, 15 pesos is probably a lot. (The next day, I walked through the park and saw a Mexican kid playing with his poi, and another kid recognized me from the fair. That was awesome!)

Sue's School Fundraising Experience - Bazaar Navideno

At last the long anticipated Colegio Rudolf Steiner Baazar Navideno has arrived to Parque Juarez. The annual school Christmas Fair is a much talked event and our family was eager to see how their fund raising efforts might compare to those of our schools in San Francisco - KDBS and Ring Mountain. Rewind back to October where I found myself sitting at a local coffee shop intently trying to decipher the rapidly fired Spanish that surrounded me as a few parents attended the first planning meeting. I thought I did quite well in listening as well as participating in the conversation. So in leaving the meeting I felt comforted by what seemed to be a decent amount of volunteers and the notion that I would be minutely committing my time to run a workshop table making snow globes. What could be harder? It’s not like I would be running the Parent Association? Flash forward to last week when it dawns on me that the Fair is in desperate shape as the site has not been confirmed, the volunteers not found, and the marketing just begun. And of course, the ESFJ in me (the Extra Special Friendly Joiner as the Meyers Brigg Personality test indicates) jumped in to hopefully save the day. Thankfully, I had the help of the fabulously large and resourceful Mancera Family (Liz and Fernando). The Fair would have been a much different event without my pal Liz and her hubby Fernando to work ferociously and pull every connection for resources. And so, even though I felt a lot of things could have been better planned and executed, from the perspective of the many children and adults that attended, it was a wonderful day. The entertainment was fabulous from flamenco dancers, to African drummers, and of course Poi spinners. The children enjoyed the puppet theater as well as the many holiday craft workshops. I only lament that I was so busy covering all the bases that I didn't get to shop from the many local vendors selling beautiful holiday crafts. Overall, it was a great event! Now, on to the debriefing to better prepare for next years’ Bazaar…

Adult Night - Music and Pizza

I've been trying to take advantage of everything San Miguel has to offer, and there's so much going on that it's impossible to do it all. One thing we've not really dived into is the music scene here. The San Miguel Blues and Jazz festival has been going on for the past week, and Saturday night was the last night with a Motown and Funk band concert, so it was a perfect excuse for us to go out. Plus, some other families were going too, which made a great opportunity for a fun evening.

First stop was the concert. We drove in with Jim and Adriana, and once there hooked up with Sam and Anne-from-Baltimore, Roger and Rosanna (two cool parents from our school), and a couple of other families. The music was really good, and we were able to buy bottles of wine and enjoy them from our seats. There was an intermission after the first act, and then a local band called Pila Seca played. The did a few covers, and some original songs too, and I was pleasantly surprised how good they were. Roger, Sue and Adriana even got up to dance for the last song.

Next stop was dinner, as the adults were hungry and needing a cushion for the red wine. Roger suggested Mare Nostrum, an Italian place we had been once before. About 11 of us arrived there, and we had a great group eating pizza and drinking a little more.

Roger and Rosanna are an interesting couple I wish we had gotten to get to know better sooner. They met in San Miguel 30 years ago when they were eighteen or nineteen. Roger is American, and Rosanna is Mexican, and they made it work in spite of the immediate language and cultural differences. They have been living in San Miguel ever since. They have one daughter, who is in Bryce and Laurel's class.

After enjoying our Pizzas, we had a final stop at one of the hip bars in town called Bezzito. This is a side of San Miguel we haven't really seen. There are actually a lot of young Mexican adults in town, and they have to have places to go too. The bar is beautiful, with an indoor waterfall, and a glass covered creek on the upper deck that seems to flow from a flame. They have a great view from the deck. I would have liked to stay longer, but this wasn't Sue's scene, and I had kept her out late anyway, so we departed gracefully and got a taxi home.

We had a really fun time, with some really great people. Unfortunately, this may be our last date night before we leave in two weeks :(

The Big Tree of La Huerta

Despite being major contributors to the demise of the Tequila the previous night, Fernando and I were feeling OK the next day, and were ready for another adventure for the kids. We did a short hike, and then drove down the road to La Huerta, a tiny town just a couple miles from their house. We trekked out there with Fernandito, Bryce, Tula and Romy, as well as the cousins Arnulfo and Andreas, and Sylvana - all piled in the back of a pickup Mexican style.

La Huerta doesn't have much - it's a typical Mexican small town, with no gringos. The attraction is El Arbol Sabino, a magnificent 500+ year-old tree in town. The tree has been fed by a spring, and as such it continues to thrive, despite being the only one of its kind for miles around. The root system is magnificent, and it has a calming aura about it.


Fernando enjoying the tree


Sylvana chilling out under the tree holding Peanut - Bryce's stuffed dog


Bryce and Bill under The Big Tree

On the way up to the tree, in the middle of the path, a momma pig was nursing her three-day-old piglets. So I had to snap a photo just for the cuteness factor:


Piglets

Fire Fiesta

Tonight was the long-awaited fire and drumming party with Fernando's family at their ranch. The guests were the four of us, Cuautli, Fernando, Liz, Fernandito and Romy, Romy's friend Tula, the cousins Arnulfo and Andreas, and their hippie friends Sylvana, Michael and Pedro the cheese man.

As usual, we arrived on time, but the real festivities didn't start until a couple of hours later. We snacked on a yummy chorizo and poblano quiche we ordered from a woman here who does nothing but bake and deliver quiches, as well as some other yummy goodies that Liz had provided. Once everyone felt well-fed, Fernando lit a bonfire outside, and the drumming began.

Arnulfo and Andreas have traveled to Africa twice to study and practice African drumming, and are terrific. And Michael and Pedro-the-cheese-man are really musical as well - more on that shortly.

We sat around the bonfire, and enjoyed the drumming. I brought my fire poi, and did a few fire spins to complement the drum beats. Laurel and Fernando got some drumming instruction and practice. And Bryce entertained us with the glow poi.


Fernandito working the drums

Here' a little video of me doing fire, and Bryce with the glow poi. You can hear the drumming too:



As it got later, our stack of beer bottles got bigger, and the tequila bottle got emptier. The kids went to bed, and the fire was going strong. The conversations were mixed English and Spanish - I tried to speak Spanish whenever I could, but in some cases English just worked better for everyone. The whole crowd had excellent English, so it was no problem understanding and communicating.

The biggest surprise was Pedro-the-cheese-man, who got out his guitar, and entertained us with some hilarious songs he made up on-the-fly in English, Spanish, and Rastafarian. Pedro is an incredibly talented, funny guy - and is a natural entertainer. Sue has bought cheese from him before at Tuesday market, and his cheeses are exceptional too.

Fernando and I went to bed at 1:30 or so. When I awoke in the morning, Sylvana and Arnulfo were still outside, crashed by the fire, with the remnants of a great party surrounding them:


This picture tells the whole story of the night before

Cheetisimo

One of the stores I walk past frequently has the biggest bags of Cheetos I have ever seen. What on earth do you do with such a big bag of junk food?

Sounds of San Miguel de Allende

It can certainly be said that San Miguel is a much photographed, sketched, and painted town. It’s brilliantly colored walls and doors, brightly hued flowers, Spanish architecture, and quaint streets lend to this gringo obsession. What I wonder is if anyone has ever captured the sounds of San Miguel? As I compose this email at 6 PM sitting out on our deck above town with the early winter sun setting over the Las Picachos Mountain Range my ears are attuned the following cacophony: the reciprocal barking of a pack of rooftop dogs, the crowing of a few roosters, the rumble of cars making their way up bumpy Cuesta San Jose, a male tom cat looking for a female conquest, the elote (or grilled corn) man calling out his wares as he wanders up the callejons of Colonia Azteca, the whoosh of the birds as they buzz our house on their way down to the Parque Juarez trees for night roosting, the 5:53 church bells (I think the bell ringer needs a new watch) and of course a few loud fireworks. Oh, and I think I can hear a goat...who keeps a goat in the city? If it was early in the day I would most certainly hear the clanging on the metal bar warning the maids that the trash truck is coming, the shrill whistle of the traveling knife sharpener man, the blaring loud speaker message of the gas delivery company, and if I’m lucky the hee haw of the donkeys as the make their way down the cobblestone streets to deliver soil or wood. All in a day of a life in San Miguel de Allende.

Where did all the fireworks go?

When we first got here, fireworks were almost a daily occurrence. But for the past six weeks or so, we haven't seen any.

Is it because "party season" is over? Did the old government blow the entertainment budget for the new government? I miss them...

Maragarita's Trek

I was talking with Margarita yesterday, and she told me quite a story. Apparently every year in January, there is a pilgrimage to a town about 180 miles away to honor the Virgen del Lago (Virgin of the Lake). Thousands of people walk there, many coming from San Miguel. Margarita told me she does this every year, over the course of nine days.

Yes - this 79-year-old Margarita:

Small Town

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.

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.

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.

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...