the first day here

Mexico me encanta!

I arrived yesterday after not sleeping a wink the night before, and having not rested only made the experience more surreal. One layover in Dallas, and then it was onto a small jet to cross into my new reality. I slept a bit on the flight, and woke to turbulence over the mountains surrounding Leon. As we approached, I finally felt the excitement that had eluded me for these last weeks. The fear was gone.

At first my impression was one of familiarity - the palm trees and balmy weather made me think of my trips to Africa. Customs was quick and polite and my first Spanish in country was to the officer.¨Buenas tardes." when he responded with a polite "buenas tardes" back and looked over my paperwork and passport, it hit me - I was really doing this.

Liz was waiting for me with a sign that had my name and the name of my school (don Quijote) and introductions included meeting Eric, who had flown in just before me. We rode together for the half hour drive from Leon to Guanajuato, chatting about the weather in our hometowns, our families, and about our professions. Along the way I was struck by the signs beside the road reminding us to make good choices; they were not such that we have in the States like "pull accidents away from traffic" - rather, they say things like "work for the good of your family", and "stay healthy".

Much of the motor traffic in Guanajuato travels through the city in tunnels, and pedestrians are above, winding along labyrinth like roads twisting this way and that. Eric and I were pretty sure we knew where we were going as we traversed the town on foot, only to realize we were completely lost. However, after a full day of exploring we had gotten our bearings enough to realize that we really were never totally lost. Walking up the steep incline to his rented apartment high above the center of town proved a test for my cardiovascular status; I was embarassed that my Denver conditioned self was out of breath when we reached the top. But, to my amazement, within a 15 minute period of reaching the top and exploring, my breath felt as if it drew real life into me and I felt better than I have in as long as I can remember.

My host family is so very nice, and they greeted me with love and welcome. My room is a double but I have it to myself, and the space is comfortable. The house is only minutes away from the school and very convenient. I didnt spend much time in there this day, as Eric and I were both so excited about discovering our new home. We got some photos from the rooftop of his place and then headed to find a cantina! In the Cantina Cubano, a local dive bar, we met some interesting folk and tried our hand at conversational spanish while enjoying some cold cervesas. After meeting his roommate and popping in to see my host family again, we headed out for dinner and drinks and to see more of downtown. At BarFly we went to the roof where there appeared to be a private party of some sort, were greeted with hollers from the patrons "Ai! Aqui los americanos!" so I guess we were pretty obvious.... The bartender asked, "De donde eres?" and when I replied with "Denver" everyone got excited and yelled "Broncos!" - we were instantly told to make ourselves at home.

A fine introduction to Guanajuato, I felt myself thinking as I fell asleep in my new home. I wonder why I decided against staying for the 6 months I originally threatened. I am so wishing I could indeed do that, but I cannot begin to cover payments for rent at home should I do that. This was the best idea I ever had, only the disappointment is that it is only for 4 weeks. Who knows, my visa is good for 6 months, I will continue to dream about the possibilities.