Un año después (part 1)

This is just the first Wednesday of our two weeks here, 9 days left until we mke for the boarder in order to return in time for Christmas (Christmas eve will be one of flights and lay-overs). I´m currently sitting next to girlfriend on a bench en El parque de Benito Juarez scribbling notes for a blog while traditional Spanish music blasts over a speaker bolted to a small, probably landscaping tool, shed behind us. Alexis is knitting like a mad-woman try to make deadlines for Christmas gifts, which this country seems to be mercelessly reminding her as decorations for La Navidad hang in most streets of every city we´ve seen so far and the people are already wishing eachother a ´feliz Navidad´despite the more than ten days to go. Did I mention the notebook I´m filling with my terrible handwriting is definitely that which would normally be used by a child in class (even going as far as to include a spot for nombre y matería (subject) on the front and a colorful multiplication table in the back). (Even beyond my handwriting which is just barely decipherable to me and the notebook that keeps trying to close itself, is the fact that this hostal´s keyboard is so worn that the markings on the keys are hard to see, which is only a problem because it´s also a Spanish keyboard, so just different enough that I have to look down every few seconds, and the buttons have been so brutalized that each one seems to require being pressed in a very specific and individual direction, otherwise my fingers just bounce off the top and typos abound.)

Now to the good stuff. What have we been up to so far. Friday 9/12 (that´s 12/9 for you stateys) was both the date of our flight and also my last final, which I breezed through on a brisk morning (see: mostly played connect the dots with my scantron (multiple choice answer sheet) on a freezing, stupid-early morning). After finishing, I raced home, grabbed my pre-packed bag, and we headed immediately to Portland for a few short goodbyes and then off to PDX for our flight. We left at 7:30pm, but despite the hour of our flights, the early morning, and my sleep-deprived finals week, neither of us was able to get a wink of sleep until our bus trip from D.F. (Mexico City) to Querétaro at around 8:30 am local time (6:30 in Oregon). The three hours of rest was welcome, but hardly sufficient. After arriving in Querétaro (Qro from here on in) we ate lunch and then walked around/sat lazily on benches until 5:00 pm when my amigos were to meet us and likely have a place for us to stay. They did not. We ended up getting a Hostal room and taking a short siesta. I slept soundly, but poor Alexis was keep from joining me in wonderful all encompassing sleep by the fireworks going off nearby. Why were there fireworks you ask? (I don´t care that you didn´t just play along) because there are so many Churches, all with different patron saints, that virtually everyday (I´m really not exaggerating) there is a Church some where in Qro celebrating "el día de san/santa [somebody]". After our siesta, we had agreed to meet with our amigos en la Plaza de Armas to go to a bar and have a relaxed quite drink with conversation and sitting before heading to bed for as much sleep as we could manage. Our amigos took us to a club with earsplitting music that was so packed with gente that you could not not be touching at least one other persona at any given time. After the club, they assured us, we would be going to a house party... Needless to say we ducked out of the club after 30 minutos and headed back to the hostal to rest our weary bodies with newfound headaches; cerveza-less.

Sunday 11/12 (again, that´s 12/11) we checked out of the hostal and walked through the beautiful historic center, which we explored before but through a filter of grump and sleepiness, and spent a bit of time in the sepulcro (sepulcher) of figuras ilustrias (aka famous folk) before walking along the well-know aqueductos and eventually to la casa de mi familia, with whom I had stayed during my three month study abroad trip two summers ago. Now, this is a surprise visit. They have no idea I´m in México because I managed to leave without their address, which I had assured myself was safely written down somewhere (guess what WASN´T written down ANYWHERE). My hermana (not to be confused with sister, that is reserved for Kirsty) answered the door with a "Hola, ¿qué -- ¡Chaparro! ¡Pasale, pasale!" which translates to something like "Hello, can -- Shorty! (her affectionate family name for me) Come in, come in!" Even Andrea, their German Shepard, remembered and welcomed me back. Shortly thereafter my host mother and father arrived home and we spent the evening talking and eating palomitas. Being the hospitable people they are, they offered to put us up, constantly reminding me "es tu casa, hijo" so that I/we didn´t feel like just guests but family.

Monday 12/12 (or 12/12) after days spent and miles racked up of walking to, from, and around el centro, we decided to see the city as a whole, so we headed for high-ground. The best view around, with houses to boot, (it´s like the West Hills with a San Fran twist due to the laughably steep slopes) is undoubted at the top of a huge hill only about a mile from la casa de mi familia. We waded through people crowding to get a spot on the street to see the relic of John Paul II** and faced the ridiculously steep hills, stopping several times to catch our breath, but pushing on to try and beat the sunset. We made it to the top (with literally seconds to spare) just as Alexis was finishing her story, through gasps for air (we are seriously at one of the highest points around in a city that already sits at over 6,000 ft elevation), by saying "and that is the most beautiful thing I´ve every seen" only to turn around and see the sun already a quarter of the way hidden behind a mountain, one of many that surrounds the entire city, casting its deep red light over nearly the entire city. She then says "Correction, WAS the most beautiful thing I´d ever seen". Aside from all the good things that have already happened on this trip, hearing her say that alone would make the whole thing worth it.

**For those of you who don´t know, Mexico is about 90% Catholic, give or take about 0%. That being said, The Pope´s relics (little viles of blood) being carted through town is a BIG DEAL, and even more so is the fact that this was going down on 12/12, which is el día de la Virgen de Guadalupe or Virgin Mary Day as one (myself) might poorly translate it. This, serveral people told me, is el día más importante in all of México. More important than Sep. 16th, which is there independence day, and even Dec. 25, the birth of Christ(!!). So having the relics of the Pope come through on that day is just icing on the spiritual cake.

13/12
We left Qro around 10 or 11 in the morning bound for San Miguel de Allende. I love Qro, but if you could only visit one place in México, I would, without hesitation, say Xilitla (he-lee-tla). But if you could visit two places, I would say Xilitla and then San Miguel. The ciudad does have a lot of tourists, but not as many as Guanajuato, and definitely not enough to hurt the over-all beauty of the place. Honestly I can´t blame the gringos for coming here! This ciudad is constantly bathed in sunlight (day time, obviously), but that is tempered by a gentle breeze. The buildings are of the typical mexican color palette of warm reds, yellows, and oranges, while many of the rooves are the terracota tejas that I love so much (fun fact: Texas is named for Tejas, I believe because of the color of much of the soil). The crown jewel of the ciudad, however, is the stunning cathedral. Lit by sunlight or the spotlights subtly hidden in its design, it takes your breath away. It is a gothic style construction and it´s internal beauty is only matched by that of the spires and towers with point skyward with such awesome authority that you can´t help but be moved, religious or not. Alexis even got water-eyed when we stopped to see it at night while the plaza was filled with traditional music played en vivo on a small stage that had been set up nearby.

So here we are in San Miguel, opting at first to stay 2 night instead of one, and now 3 instead of 2. We´ll likely be moving on to either Dolores Hidalgo and then Guanajuato, or just straight to Guanajuato before heading back to Qro for the remainder of our stay. So I hope this is blog is appreciated at I´ve spent the better part of two hours typing it up on this truly awful keyboard. If you have any Christmas requests, please comment below and I´ll be sure and try to pick you up something here. Also, please comment on this post as your feed-back is important to me and my ego desperately needs to know that I can command your attention even from 1,500 miles away.

Love you all.
Salud,
-Connor

P.D. Por el año que estuve en EUA, mi español empeoró mucho. Todavía no tengo todo mi habilidad no ha devolvido a mí, pero cada día y cada conversación me ayuda mucho. Gracias a todo por leer mi blog. ¡Nos vemos bien pronto!