it's only been a couple of weeks but already I feel like a common citizen navigating my way through the crowds and dodging drivers who follow no road rules. reminds me of how in Charleston I always felt a tinge of anxiety when crossing through traffic, such as at 4-way stops. I know, it seems silly, especially considering that here I'm always in arms reach of speeding vehicles and there aren't any traffic lights and the few stop signs we do have aren't taken seriously. so thanks to being here, I've rid myself of my car phobia.
I've also rid myself of personal space. people hug and kiss, even if they're strangers meeting for the first time. the exception is that guys shake hands with one another. this way of greeting is something I've only now gotten the hang of. usually when I met someone I stuck to my tendency of waving at them from afar. after all, I'm used to thinking that shaking hands was a bit too formal. there've been two occasions in which someone's put their head near mine, while I stood there for a couple of seconds until it hit me what it was they were waiting for. one time someone did that to me in the kitchen and I thought they were trying to grab something behind me.
even at the dinner table there's a lack of personal space. instead of asking someone to pass you an item, you simply reach for it. and take for example the streets. most of them are one way because they're only wide enough for one vehicle. and the sidewalks on either side are the same, built wide enough for a single person, so pedestrians have to practically walk against one another, especially when a vehicle takes up all of the space in the road. this also goes for the stairway at my university, which, again, by the looks of it, is made for one-way single-person traffic. and I've had conversations with people in which there was almost no space between us, so it feels like they're hovering. well, at least for me, since I'm short. anyway, now I feel at ease with all of the above.
I'm still getting used to being introduced to so many people, due to my host family having so many friends and relatives dropping by to visit the new baby. and apparently my host mom has a history of welcoming anyone to lunch at our place. it feels like every day I'm sharing the diner table with a new group of people, whether relatives, neighbors, or her kids' friends.
recently my host mom's eldest daughter, Pili, came to visit for the week with her two sons, Paul (6) and Alejandro (2). Paul is a super sweet kid who's currently obsessed with Michael Jackson, and Alejandro has gorgeous, innocent eyes and a diva personality.
these two were endlessly entertaining. and I liked that their mom, Pili, didn't act transformed by motherhood. she seemed like a peer of mine who happened to have kids, and all we did was make fun of them or make the same digusted faces at one another when they did something ridiculous, like danced. Paul would immitate Michael Jackson while Alejandro exemplified natural rhythm to the beats of the music, which was so odd to see coming from someone who's barely 2.
the picture above was taken on top of a mountain. I believe the place is called Cristo Rey, with the large statue in the background being of Jesus.
when they left Saturday night, it was a tearful goodbye. just seeing everyone else crying almost made me cry, but I held back because I felt it was odd for me to feel this close to people I only knew for a week, but my feelings were genuine, nonetheless. being here has made me appreciate family even more.
anyway, they might come back mid-September for another week
I walked to the art school with Mira and Anna and would have enrolled in a life-figure drawing class if it hadn't conflicted with my class schedule. each class is only $20-$30, and that's for an entire semester.
this weekend I went to see State of Play at the movie theater with Mira and Anna. we first walked around the Mega Mart and bought an assortment of snacks. there were all kinds of sweet, delicious-looking baked goods, so we each picked 2. I paid for everyone and the total was a little over $1 USD. however, I finally learned that not everything is cheap. in fact, a tube of exfoliating face scrub costs almost $5. but generally the cost of living is cheap. I know a guy who has a completely furnished two-bedroom apartment with everything (including internet) for only $300 USD, and that's near the central part of the city.
the movie had Spanish subtitles, so not only was it thrilling, it was educational. and afterward we decided to walk through the city instead of sitting in a bar. we got to see parts of the city we hadn't explored before and passed by a street vendor on almost every block. I wasn't that hungry but tempted to try something since everything everyone was selling cost under a dollar.
later today I'm going to be leading a conversation in English at the university. last week I attended a session and ended up being invited to a café afterward with three others, who turned out to be some of the nicest people I've ever met. they all said they'd come to my session every Monday at 5 PM. and at 6 PM there's a French session that I'm gonna start attending, since I still have to take French next semester at EIU.
I also got a hold of Adair, a guy I met in Charleston at Amigos&Friends who now lives in Toluca, which is 3-4 hours away from Guanajuato and 40 minutes from Mexico City. I made plans to take a bus directly to Toluca and to stay with him and his family for the weekend. my host mom told me that Toluca has great food, which must mean it's exceptional, since everything I've eaten in Guanajuato is excellent. in fact, when I get back to the U.S., I plan on cooking the same food
above is a mural from their backyard.
above is Mira, from the L.A., California, trying on Emilia's outfit for the night
above is Emilia, from Korea. she was showing us pictures of her trips through México. we told her that it seemed like she had already visited every place in México, and she said, "No, I haven't been to Veracruz."
Meghan took an hour and a half, or maybe more time than that, to get ready, and by the time she was all dressed up, my camera had gone dead, due to us taking a ton of pictures while waiting. anyway, we got to the restaurant at 11:15 PM, and we were told that the kitchen closed at 11 PM. fortunately, Meghan knew the server, so we were still able to order food, which turned out to be beyond good. I used to think that all Méxican food was essentially the same, but now I realize it's cause I've always ordered the same things. I think my meals have never been more varied than it has been here. and now that I'm far more familiarized with Méxican cuisine, I know what to look for at restaurants back in the states.
above is part of the hallway near my room. again, another pretty mural.
above is Emilia while we were waiting for the taxi.
above is Meghan and her dog Truffles
the market is a huge cluster of small stores 
we didn't get back home till around 5 PM, and by that point we started worrying about how much time we'd have to work on our project, since we wanted to go out again that night and planned on leaving San Miguel Sunday afternoon.
we set up camp outside and finished most of our project within 3 hours. 
above is a photo from Mira's facebook. this was actually from our first night at the restaurant.
above is a mocajete dish from our second night at the restaurant. the food that night was so so so good, it kills me.
the same two bands played again, which was comforting, but we didn't plan on staying out too late. in fact, we left around 1 AM, which was a shame cause we were yet again the only dancers at that point
anyway, we left San Miguel soon afterward, and agian, I felt so happy to arrive back in Guanajuato City.
next week we're supposed to draw vegetables. ugh, I hope we start to actually paint soon.
above is a sketch I did a couple of weeks ago. Samuel, Mira, Daniella, and I went to one of plazas in order to draw. I drew them as they sat on the bench.
I feel like so much has happened in the past 2 weeks that it's hard to believe I've only been here a month. I'll try to piece it all together. First, I climbed the Bufa again and mounted the cross as well, with the help of Samuel (photo by Mira). it looks like I'm hovering near the edge, but the cross is actually secured 5 feet from it, if I can remember correctly. anyway, it was just one more thing to climb and after having climbed a mountain, another 10 or 12 feet seemed insignifcant. however, I was only up there for about 30 seconds because from the top of the cross it did look like I was hovering on the edge, staring down at the profound drop. so I started to shake. and even once I was back on the ground, I continued to lightly shake for the next couple of minutes. 
above is a stray dog who walked into our conversation class. he had also walked into lit and history. I see a handful of stray dogs every day, of all types running wild, yet keeping to themselves. now when I see someone walking a dog, I think it's weird, like really unnatural, like if someone were to walk a pigeon. sometimes they're super small, cute and fluffy, with beaming smiles, running joyfully past pedestrians, and I wonder why someone hasn't snatched them up.
above is the Spanish word "vista" (sight) translated into Russian. this was written during a presentation given by my German classmate, Antje, who knows 5 languages. in our conversation class we each have to present an ability. I believe my presentation is scheduled in October, so I have a while to think of what mine is. 
above is a shot of a sculpture in the Meseum of Don Quixote, which gives free admittance to university students. this museum has by far the most distinct and inspirational paintings I've ever seen, even compared with the exhibits in Chicago and Peoria. unfortunately, I couldn't take photos of the paintings, which are all inspired by the story of Don Quixote. there was even one by Salvador Dali. after visiting that museum, I raved about it to everyone. art has never made me feel so good.
above (photo'd by Mira) is Mira, Cindy, me, and Samuel standing in what I think is the longest line I've ever been in, and with the longest wait. but each other's company made the wait much more bearable. in fact, compared with actually being in the stadium and watching the concert, our wait was a better time. Samuel said that the ridiculous wait was due to the lack of order. 
I was told that these bands (photo'd by Mira) are famous in México, which seemed apparent when everyone sang along and got excited for every song. but because I couldn't understand what the singer was saying, I wasn't into it. the music was decent, like the type that could be really good if only I knew what the lyrics meant, but because I couldn't understand, it was just bland.
on Saturday we swam in the pool and then went to Taxco, which was a couple of hours away. it reminded me a little of Guanajuato, with it's Spanish architecture, bricks roads, and steep hills. but it also made me think of how much better Guanajuato is. in fact, being anywhere else in México strengthened my appreciation for Guanajuato. it truly is a special place. I wouldn't compare it to Chicago, because Guanajuato is a small city. but that's what makes it near perfect for me. it feels like a vibrant city filled with art and young people, and at the same time it's small enough to become familiar with everything, that you can spot familiar faces all over. basically, the perfect blend of small town and city.
in downtown Taxco there were shops galore. I didn't buy anything, though. I'm gonna wait to buy souvenirs during Festival Cervantino, which lasts for 2 weeks in October and will be major. the featured guest this year is Quebec, Canada. Adair and 9 of his other friends are driving up to Guanajuato for the festival and will be staying in a hotel in the central area, which is the area in which I live. above is Marco's girlfriend, Austen, and Adair's girlfriend, Daniel. 
above is Marco and Adair. during my entire stay, they paid for all my meals, for which I was super grateful. I don't normally eat out, even though Guanajuato has so many places, because I'm committed to eating with my host family. besides their company, their meals are always varied and excellent. one of the things I tried during my trip was pig intestines, which was served in a soup. I didn't know they were pig intestines at the time. I just thought the spungy, slimy meat was like pork fat. it was cool to try new things, but I missed my eating routine.
above is Saul, one of Adair's close friends, and his girlfriend in a drunken haze, wallowing in freezing water on a cold night. this was back at Adair's ranch. my host mom told me that Toluca was cold, but I didn't really believe her accurate description. I ended up jumping in the pool with them but got out quickly. it was utter torture, and it pained me to think of the people who jump into frozen lakes during the winter time for charity events. 
my host mom's daughter Faviola drove me to one of the university's more modern style buildings. I forgot that the campus is spread throughout the city:
Faviola's friend Cristián was my tour guide. she lives with us and recently graduated from the university and is spending a couple of more weeks in the city before reutrning to Guadalajara
I went to the Plaza de la Paz to meet up with some international students. all I knew was that we were walking somewhere
we started making our way up the city
we got to this point called the Pípila, which offers a panoramic view of the city
which is why you can find hundreds of other pictures that look exactly like this
as we kept trekking upward, we passed a number dogs, most of which run around freely. this one was an exception
I felt compelled to take a photo of every building we passed
I knew we were headed to some point called la bufa. I asked where it was and someone pointed to the mountain in the right-hand corner. I thought they were joking
I noticed this thing hop by. it looks like a toad and cricket mix
we had to take a number of breaks. I felt a bit tortured at this point, due to being out of shape and the altitude
you can barely see the city behind us. I still don't understand how we look so far away from it. the walk wasn't that long. anyway, at some points I was literally climbing the mountain, using both my hands and feet, and I thought, hm, this is kind of dangerous
people thought that my wearing boots was a bad idea. sure, they don't have traction, but they're probably the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. even after this trip, my feet felt fine, as if I hadn't hiked and climbed a mountain
here's the top of la bufa. one of the guys in our group had slept here overnight
we made it back 3 or 4 hours later
the other night, as Mira and I walked to an outdoor book fair, we passed what appeared to be a medieval show. we should've watched it. instead, I went and bought 1984 in Spanish for a couple of bucks. we also passed by a French restaurant with crepes (Michael, why aren't you here?).
