First Week

I have survived the first week of the first session! I can't believe how much better I feel this year! I am more accustomed to the city, the lifestyle and this year I am living with a family that is "tan cariñosa" (very caring). I will introduce them to you shortly. I am also living with two of my colleagues and we have the same schedule, so studying together has been very valuable. Finally, this house is much closer to the center of town and we have the internet in the house! These seem like simple details, but they can make every difference in the world!!!!



As I mentioned, the family I am living with this summer is amazing! Mari is the mother and she has two daughters. Fernanda (8) is so incredibly cute! She is always adding details to our adult conversations that make me laugh. She is beautiful both inside and out. Pamela (15) is much more shy, but I feel like she enjoys our conversations when I ask about her personal life. She is very smart and wants to study to have her own beauty salon. Mari has a friend, Angelica, that comes to the house to help with cleaning. She has a son, Issac (1), that has captured my heart! He is so darn cute! He likes to play peek-a-boo. We are all one big, happy family.



We also have other housemates from different parts of the world living with us. Chen is from Japan. He has been here for almost a year and will be leaving soon. He is the only "hombre de la casa," so we tease him a lot because he's always out enjoying the night life of Guanajuato. Susana and Alexis are here from the D.C. area, although they didn't know each other until they arrived here. They don't know a lot of Spanish; they attend a specific language school that caters to their level. We are about to have a new roommate, Marie, who used to live here in Guanajuato for two years, but she moved back to Texas. She's here to visit for the summer and is going to live with us since she already knows the family.



Some sad news: Mari's father passed away this past week. She left for Mexico City to attend the funeral and spend time with her family. Mari is very religious, so she knows that her dad is in heaven, but it's still very difficult to lose your father. He had been suffering with lung cancer for awhile, so his death was not a surprise.

We went out last night for a few drinks to celebrate our survival of the first week of school and afterwards we went to a fundraiser/auction at a bar. To my surprise, there were a group of students from the University of Arizona there. They were the ones sponsoring the auction in support of a community center they came to build for a school on the outskirts of Guanajuato. I ran into one of my previous students! What a small world! Elise also participated in our Hands Across the Border program, so I know her family very well. It was a surprise I will never forget!

We got up early this morning and climbed one of the surrounding mountains. The mountain is called el cerro de la sirena. There is a cross at the very top of the mountain. It was a spiritual experience on many levels and it gave me an entirely different perspective of the city. I hope to download pictures of my journey very soon (if I haven't already).

I hope that all is well back in the states. I look forward to sharing more of my experiences with you as the summer progresses.

Love always,

Sarah