baby, bank, and bootleg videos

woke up at 6:30 AM to get ready for classes, along with most everyone else in the house who was up because

one of my host mom's daughters had to go to

the hospital to give birth. both the daughter and new baby boy are coming home tomorrow.

today was the first day of classes and I left feeling really good about all of them.

everything was pretty much introductory, except for my history course, in which my professor started lecturing the

material. it's hard enough to pay attention to a lecture in English, so you'd figure it'd be easy to zone out to someone

speaking in a foreign language, but surprisingly she had a way of speaking that I really liked. she was so concise, composed

, and humorous.

and I'm really looking forward

to my conversations class in which we discuss world issues within a mixed group of Japanese, Korean, Canadians,

Germans, and U.S. citizens. today we touched upon stereotypes, which prompted our professor to share this joke:

Q: ?por qué las rubias no saben preparar hielo? (why don't blondes know how to prepare

ice?)

A: porque no saben la receta (because they don't know the recipe)

afterward, Anna and I walked around the city looking for a bank. I needed to withdraw

6,630 pesos ($500 USD) from the ATM in order to pay my host family for the month. along the way we ran into two

other international students, both from Canada and we all walked to the bank, then walked around looking through

various shops. I bought some apple soda and a package of lightly poweredered donuts, the total being around a dollar.

this is a view from our balcony

this is the street I live on, Calle Sangre de Cristo

on my way back to the apartment

our quest for stores. up ahead on the right side is a large group of students sketching on paded paper

near the bank. I'm guessing that yellow building is a church? forgot to ask

this is Lidia and Cindy. they're from Quebec, Canada. their first language is French

we followed Cindy into a video store. I noticed that they had Public Enemies, Bruno, and Ice Age 3 on their shelves, all movies playing at my theater before I left. the videos are about 3 for $3 USD.

I love the nightlife

yesterday I sat around watching and reading the news from the U.S. I still miss my home and family, even my country, for that matter; I appreciate it more than ever and can't wait to get back. but at the same time I'm quickly adjusting to life here and am loving the city and people.

one thing that's still odd is not having any responsibilities besides studying. all my meals are prepared for me and we even have someone who cleans the apartment. in regard to our meals, we have breakfast when we wake up, lunch at three PM, and then a super light dinner around 8 PM.

my host mom asked if I would be interested in teaching English at the elementary school nearby. OMG a definite duh. she said she'd speak with the director of the school once their term starts.

last night I met with Anna and two of her friends, both from the U.S. and we took a taxi to the movie theater, which was inside a mall. the taxi only cost the equivalent of two U.S. dollars, which we split, and my movie ticket was three U.S. dollars. and yes, they show the same movies that would be playing in the U.S., besides those in Spanish. we saw the Code, with Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderes, which sucked, but at least I learned a bit from reading the Spanish subtitles.

afterward we took another taxi back into the city. BTW there appear to be no traffic laws. there aren't any traffic lights, and I only remember seeing one stop sign, which didn't phase our taxi driver, who was also singing loudly.

once we were dropped off, we decided that we'd all meet up later at the union garden at 1:15 AM.

we ended up going to four different night clubs. at one of them I was frisked at the door and the guy pulled out my chapstick and asked "Qué es?" (what's this?). I thought, really?

toward the end of the night we went back to that basement-style bar, where people dance on the white sofas, and this time there were strobe and lazer lights zipping through all the artificial smoke. we danced till they closed, which was about four AM.

on our way to this reggae bar, I saw this guy walking by who at first I thought had cerebral palsy, because of the way his legs were bent as he walked. but as he got closer I could tell by the look on his face that he was just incredibly intoxicated. I've never seen someone look that out of it. but somehow he was functioning as if he were on autopilot and like he still possesed a sense of direction.

unfortunately the reggae bar was closed as well, so I'm guessing that bars here close at 4 AM. there were still all kinds of people out and about, especially around this one taco stand. it reminded me of the many weekends in Charleston where after a drunken evening we'd all head over to taco bell.

and again, my night of clubbn was completely free.

anyway, gotta get back to studying. my first class starts tomorrow at 8 AM

first friday

in the afternoon I went to orientation and was given a presentation and tour by the language department staff. they briefed us on how to stay safe, even though Guanajuato is generally a safe city. apparently you have to be wary of ATM machines because sometimes people install small video cameras on them in order to read your information. therefore, it's best to withdraw money during the day. I mean, that's what I translated.

they also mentioned the festival internacional cervantino, which is held in October for a few weeks, and during those few weeks there're thousands of people packed in the city from all over the world, attending music performances, dance performances, plays, and art shows. I thought, how're all those people going to fit? the streets of Guanajuato are packed enough on a regular night.

during the tour I saw a flier requesting that English speakers volunteer to have conversations with students learning the language. I'm definitely going to volunteer as soon as possible. after the tour I was standing in the hallway, waiting for someone, and decided to initiate a conversation with the student across from me. she turned out to be someone preparing to be an English teacher, although it wasn't her first langage, and we ended up exchanging contact info.

at the orientation I saw Anna, who's also from EIU, and was so excited to finally speak with someone who could completely relate with me. when we started speaking in English, I spoke faster than I ever have.

I spent the rest of my afternoon speaking to my friend Beatriz on Skype, telling her all about Mexico. and while speaking with her, I felt like my Spanish flowed so well, and speaking with her gave me the type of relief I thought I could only get from speaking with another English speaker. I'm guessing it's due to the fact that I know her and that she can relate to being a newcomer and dealing with language barriers.

a short while later, I finally was able to get in touch with this girl named Clare, whom I met on a Facebook message board about Guanajuato. she was studying in Chicago, but now she's here for the semester like me. we made plans to meet at 9:30 PM.

before going out I had dinner with my host family and we ended up having a hardy conversation about work and workers' rights, and I was surprised by how much easier it was for me to express myself in Spanish. all my words flowed and almost without pause, simply after being here for three days.

anyway, I met with Clare at the teatro juarez. we wandered around the city speaking Spanish and I was surprised by the number of people out and about. there was music all around and people dressed up in costumes. there was even a clown entertaining the people sitting on the steps in front of the theater. I also noticed that the majority of young people here dress better than most people at EIU (which you can't tell by these pictures, but trust me, Angela, it's true). and there was so much more to the city than I thought. it was filled with life. I wish I could've taken more pictures, but it was too dark to take any decent ones.

eventually some guy started speaking with Clare and we ended up sitting on some steps and carrying on a conversation with him until it was interrupted by another guy whom Clare knew, inviting us to join him and a group of others at this Keraoke bar. so I met her friend Pablo, who I assume is a native to Guanajuato, a girl from Denmark, one from France, and two others from Mexico, and a guy from Portland, Oregon. after the keraoke bar, we went to a salsa club. at one point all the girls in my group started dancing together, only to be each approached by a different guy. these guys were pretty skilled. and afterward we headed over to another bar playing more dance-club type music, which is more my style, and we ended up dancing for I don't know how long, to the point that I had to stop because I felt like throwing up.

we left in time to avoid a fight that broke out between a couple of guys. we saw one guy come out of the club with no shoes and a bleeding forehead. the police who patrolled the city at night congregated in groups that appeared to be swat teams, which actually makes you feel super safe.

I made it home around 3 AM, which is fine by my host mom because I told her that I don't drink, and I didn't. in fact, my entire night out was free. I didn't drink or eat or pay any cover charges. in total, it was an awesome night.

(I promise to take far more photos of the city during the day)

solo in the city

after eating cereal and melon with my host mom, we walked to the university so that I could take the placement exam and register for my classes. it's about a five to seven minute walk from my house to the university.

this city is beautiful and bustling with young people. I had to be reminded that it's a university town. along the way I heard a bit of English by a man sitting on the sidewalk, playing and signing "Imagine" on his acoustic guitar. I also caught site of the many people congregated at the park around an instrumental band.

I took my exam and placed into the advanced classes, which means that I'll have to do a lot of studying before my classes on Monday, because although I'm comfortable with Spanish grammar and forming my own sentences, it's my listening comprehension that's not so strong, so I can imagine having simple questions directed at me by my professors and my having to ask them to repeat themselves over and over again.

while filling out paperwork, I befriended a couple of girls who were from Japan. they've been studying Spanish for three years and just arrived here to study for an entire year. the woman who worked in the office was able to assist them, speaking in fluent Japanese, even though she was obviously Mexican. I wish that I had the capacity for another language.

I walked back to my house by myself and was able to find it without any difficulties. it feels weird walking the streets of a foreign city, and the language barrier makes exploring much more daunting. I keep expecting someone to say something to me, to which I would respond, "lo siento, mi español no es tan bueno" (sorry, my Spanish isn't so good). and I kept hoping that I would run into another international student so that we could explore and look like naive tourists together.

well tomorrow is orientation. I'll meet the other international students and be given a tour of the university. I think once I start interacting with other students and start taking classes, things will start to flow comfortably.

I spent my evening studying Spanish and thinking that this might be most of what I do this semester, which won't make for much of a blog. I'm also going to bed before eleven and planning on waking up by six, only becaue I feel lonely and have nothing to sustain myself but simple goals, such as developing the habbit of waking up super early and being devoutly studious.

my classes are:

8:00 AM, Literature

9:00 AM, History

10:00 AM, Grammar

11:00 AM, Conversation

1:00 PM, Relations between Mexico and the United States

5:00 PM, Dance

goodbye, English speakers

yesterday morning Josh dropped me off at the Bush airport in Houston, and already I was wishing that I could prolong my stay, like how I wanted my summer in Pekin to continue, even though all I did was watch the Sopranos, read library books, and work at the movie theater. life was tranquilo.

my plane landed in León two hours later and moments after getting off the plane I was lost but redirected to customs. everyone around me was speaking Spanish, which put me on edge. I was expecting someone to spit Spanish at me only to have me assuredly respond with “Cómo?” (huh?), which is what happened a couple of times as I went through the process of retrieving my baggage.

the Señora, with whom I would live, was standing near the airport entrance with one of her daughters, holding a sign with my name. both she and her daughter were welcoming, embracing me with a hug and kiss, which caught me off guard.

as the Señora drove us through León, we volleyed questions back and forth in Spanish (no one in my host family speaks English), and, while we carried on the conversation, I was surprised by how poor the city appeared to be. everywhere I looked reminded me of the abandoned industrial part of downtown Peoria, except worse, and inhabited.

the city of Guanajuato, however, looks like a part of Disney World, with narrow brick roads and colorful Spanish-style buildings. my host family lives in an apartment on the third floor of their complex. it’s spacious, with enough rooms to house the Señora, her two daughters, son, me, and a large empty room furnished with two beds for any other incoming international students.

as soon as I unpacked my things, which were packed into two carry-ons and a backpack, we ate spaghetti and drank lemonade, which turned out to be the best I’ve ever tasted, made with actual lemons. the water I use is from a large jug, not the tap. I even have to fill up a cup with bottled water in order to brush my teeth.

after lunch I took a picture of the view outside my window and fell asleep. at 7:30 PM I awoke and helped prepare the dinner we were having as a “going away” for one of their friends, a Frenchman who has been studying here, and a “welcome” dinner for me.

while I chopped lettuce, the Frenchman and his girlfriend arrived. again, a light hug and kiss on the cheek was in order. and, soon after, my host mom’s son came home. he’s about my age and works at a museum. as we started to eat, my host mom’s other daughter arrived with two friends, and an older woman, a friend of my host mom, also joined us for dinner. we were gathered around the table, eating shredded pork with corn tortillas and an assortment of sauces, spices, chilies, and other various taco accessories.

the conversation and food kept coming until about midnight. at one point they made fun of me by slowing down their speech (hooooollllaaaa, coooomo estaaaas), which I appreciated :] and at another point I had to remind myself that I was listening to a foreign language. also, I suddenly craved English, wishing that there was someone with whom I could talk. I know that speaking in English would be counterproductive to my whole reason for being here, but at the time it would’ve felt comforting.

more specifically, I wanted to speak with one of the other international students who had come from the United States to know how their first day was. I kept feeling like I was plucked from Illinois and dropped into another world. anyway, I know I’m being melodramatic and that soon enough I’ll be accustomed to living here and attached to my new daily routine. and I’m grateful for being placed with such graciously kind people.