10/24

Today was a good day for La Ultima Wipe in beautiful ‘ol Guanajuato. It has gotten quite cold and blustery all of a sudden, so that is nice.

As I was walking to pick up Mikko, up the long long hill (as seen in the following pictures,) I started chatting with a woman who I see each morning. She invited me into her house and I met her husband and son, who was reading La Jornada (the progressive, lefty paper.) She was actually advertising her weekend amusement park type business and encouraging me to come with my family. (At first I thought she was just inviting us to all go out there together, then I realized is was her business.) It looks like fun, there is a trampoline and scooters to ride and other diversions. She was so sweet and after a nice little visit she said I should stop by her house anytime.

It was perfect timing because I was feeling so disappointed yesterday after my acupuncture appointment that was with a woman from Orcas Island. She was very nice, and is involved in some cool things, but she filled me in on some gringo gossip and we spoke English the whole time (obviously.) I keep getting worried that I will just fall into these gringo circles and not get to meet or get to know any real Mexican people, or speak Spanish.

So today was good. I started out at the lab getting my blood drawn and chatting with the lady there in Spanish. Had a whole day of Spanish at school, met the lovely woman on the stairs, then chatted with Victor outside of school, half in English half in Spanish (he is totally bilingual and is very gracious and patient with me.)

Picking up Mikko was a joy. He continues to be very happy and perky. (It turns out there was a boy in his class who was a bit volatile and unpredictable, who has now been expelled, and Mikko has been much happier about school since then.) As Mikko and I were coming down our callejon steps, I told a man coming up carrying a crate on his head that I liked his hat. He didn’t smile BUT Mikko understood what I had said. Then some teenagers were coming up the steps. We live about 2/3 of the way up to the Pipila. The boys were on their way there. When they came around the bend and saw that they still had a ways to go they wailed, and I yelled to them that they could do it!! They smiled and laughed, and trudged on up. That made me feel good. We came home and I had my little lie down and then made delicious enchiladas with the leftover mole.

I went into town to get my blood results, (which were too high, so I am a little worried, but not too worried, mostly just annoyed, ) and went to an internet spot after faxing my results to Kaiser. When I came out it was just after dusk. The air was chilly, there were open shops and beautiful buildings with people shopping and visiting and living their lives and I really felt like I was in Mexico again, not the amusement park that the Cervantino festival turned this town into. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to experience it, but I’m happy to get to experience life after Cervantino now. Then as the total clincher to a good day – I walked all the way up our callejon without needing to stop and rest.

The wind is blowing really hard right now. It is cold enough that I am actually wearing a few shirts and socks for the first time since we got here. I might even put an extra blanket on my bed.

“shortcut” between our schools

This is starting at the panoramica road about 10 blocks from Mikkos’ school. My school is 5-8 blocks up the road from that big school in the middle of the picture.

Each picture is taken from the last spot you can see in the previous picture.

The nice lady’s house is on the right.

Turn right at the last landing.

go down

and down

turn left at the tienda

This is a gas man. (It might be Charley, a story for another time.) Every morning of the week the gas man walks through the callejons yelling “Gas.” If you need a new tank, you run out and get them. I just realized that they each have their own variation on the word gas. The guy in our callejon sounds like he is calling for Anne, every morning. In this callejon it just sounds like a loud, ERP.

The fact that they carry these tanks up these hills is amazing. It is the same with water. I saw some guys carrying three of those big 5 gal. water bottles up this callejon one day.

and down

and down

Then I walk up this street about 8 blocks and I’m at school!

I took pictures coming up as well, but they aren’t as pretty- or as realistic, because all I really look at, when going up, is the next few steps. I have found that the trick to going up is just to walk really slow.

And, believe it or not, I no longer need to stop for a rest on my way up.

Some results of my cooking class

Mmmmm chili rellenos. I know how to make these now!!

I also learned how to make mole poblano, and made it at home this weekend.

These are just some of the ingredients.

These are the rest of the ingredients.

Unortunately I forgot to take a picture of our first dinner party, when I served the mole, but I got shot of my plate of leftovers the next day.

Schmancy hunh? I’m pretty excited!

one rainy afternoon

in the rain with the laundry

Mikko leaving the tienda, down the callejon from our house

coming up our callejon

a particularly beautiful afternoon

resting on the way up our callejon

to get to our house from the funicular

take a right at the skeleton

ours is the first door on the left