semana santa, parte I

these past couple of weeks being semana santa i have quite a lot to cover here so i'll try and do my best.

i'll start with my decision to come home in late june. making this decision has afforded me equal measures of relief and anguish, but i realized that i can't stay anywhere for another person, even if that other person is inside my head, by which i mean to say that i realized if i only stay here to prove to myself that i can stay here, i'll only end up miserable. so i'll be home on june 30th, and then you can find me at Brewster Day Camp on the Cape for my second summer as "WOW Activity Head" (WOW being an acronym, variously, for Wonders of the World, Wonders of the Wilderness, and Wonders of the Worlderness... the preciousness never ceases). again, to paraphrase Katey Grey, now i know that i don't want to teach grammar, that i want to teach Something That Really Matters (or STRM, if you're so inclined) and what else needs teaching more than appreciation of the world we're destroying at an alarming rate? besides, it gives me the opportunity to keep my tan up to snuff and will hopefully afford a smooth transition from mi vida mexicana. and, best of all, i'll be gloriously close to mis hermanas (una de mi alma y una de mi sangre.) the rough sketch of the next year includes me moving back to NYC(!!!!!!!) and getting a teaching job, applying for a master's in environmental ed on the west coast and missing Mexico terribly.

from there we shall skip to Katey Grey and RogPag's visit to the Guz. it was incredible to have the most basic components of my support system in such a foreign setting and to realize how settled in i've really become here. on their second day here, we went on an excursion to el Nevado de Colima with my friend, Hector, who is the most unassuming and most accomplished person i have possibly ever met. he took us almost all the way up the mountain and then into the volcano observatory where we were allowed to don the gear they'd use if it started to blow. after that, we took a ride to the charming little town of Tapalpa where we had dinner and wandered around the plaza which had been converted into an open-air market for the Easter holiday.

the next day, Mom and i went to a nearby ranch called Meson del Colombo. i first went to Meson del Colombo about a week after i got here to see la charreria, which is a sort of mini-rodeo, and i was blown away by how stereotypically Mexican it was, almost like something you'd see in Disneyworld, but it was real and we were the only foreigners there. Mom and i were treated to a drink called paloma, which is a stiff shot of mezcal mixed with sugar and a little bit of Nescafe in an earthenware mug and then filled with milk straight from the cow. when i first heard about it i was a little grossed out but i assure you it's amazing, and so far i haven't died. then we got a lesson from the owner of the rancho - an truly incredible charrero, and watching him ride a horse was like watching one whole creature. Mom, of course, was in heaven.

and then we set out for Guanajuato. i'll spare you the blow-by-blow, but suffice it to say that the trip took us two and a half hours longer than expected, got us lost in Guadalajara, and inspired the following exchange:
"DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUCKING EASY?" [said by Dad as we are trying to find our way in Guad while driving 70 miles an hour in between semis]
"Yes, Roger, I really think this is fucking easy."
we finally rolled into Guanajuato at about 9:30 (not before Mom attempted to drive up a one-way street the wrong way and backed over a median) and gratefully fell into the beds of our surprisingly lovely hotel, La Abadia (or "Labidabiduh," as the folks called it). the next day we poked around town, seeing the gruesome but strangely satisfying Museo de Momias - satisfying, perhaps, because having your remains propped up for all to see is kind of the ultimate worst case scenario, and also maybe because they'd never in a million years put little baby mummies under glass in the States. we also checked out the impressive Mercado, had a nice Italian dinner in the Theater District and caught some flamenco guitar. our ride back on an alternate and seemingly shorter route the next day was, despite Mom and Dad's assertions, longer than taking the Guad road even taking getting lost into account, but it was great to see Mexico up close and i got to further brush up my Spanish asking for directions every fifteen minutes or so. luckily, there is no one in the world i'd rather get lost with in a foreign country.

we got back into the Guz, freshened up and had dinner with the vols and their parents. it was so cool to see everyone's parents getting along so well, perhaps as much because they have a lot in common as because there aren't a whole lot other English speakers hanging around. we had what could generously be described as the worst and most expensive meal i've had so far in Mexico (of course this is without taking the heartbreaking sushi into account) - i had a crab salad that so nearly resembled vomit in texture, odor and taste i took one bite and sent it back, a first for me. (when am i ever going to learn that "ensalada" in Mexico means it will be swimming in mayo?) the next morning, we had a goodbye papaya breakfast and i sent Mom and Dad on their way. it was a really lovely visit in every aspect - even the slightly ugly parts made the rest of it sweeter.