Hola!

Well this past week has been interesting to say the least. We started our classes, had a few quizzes, and even had a test. Six credits in 4 weeks is not an easy thing to do. Then on Friday we went to San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo. Both of which are historical sites, which were important in the Mexican Independence. In Dolores Hidalgo, we got ice cream at this famous ice cream place that has some strange flavors like tequila, cerveza (beer), avocado, cheese, mole, and shrimp. I tried the tequila flavor, just to say I did, but ended up getting pine nut, and it was delicious. Then, on our way out of town, we saw a girl getting ready for her quincea�era. She had a beautiful blue dress and what looked like a wedding party with her, they all looked so beautiful.

In San Miguel de Allende, we went to the artisan market, which was blocks long. It started with fruits and vegetables, and of course I got some fresh mango, and ended up with jewelry and clothing. There was a ton of cool stuff, and I think every one in the group got something different, and we got some practice with bartering. Later, our guide took us to some very beautiful and very old churches, and then showed us an unfinished mural in a tunnel-like room of the local art school, which was done by David Siqueiros in 1948. It was really cool because he had all his lines sketched, for whatever he was going to paint next, in a way that I wouldn’t have known it was unfinished if no one had told me. Something I found really interesting about this town is that it is a very popular destination for retiring Americans, so there were a lot of people who spoke English, and a lot of tourist-looking people. And of course, there was a Starbucks.

Yesterday, two of my friends decided to lay out for a little while we did some homework, I should have known it would be a bad idea. Even with spf 45 on, I was burnt within four hours. Then a group of us went to the local market to look for some souvenirs for our friends and family, and got tacos at a street stand at last. They were so cute. The tortillas used had a diameter of about three inches, and they were served with meat, onions, and cilantro. That was good by itself, but at each table they had six different kinds of salsas that you could add and picking just one was really hard.

Last night I noticed something really interesting. Along with all the cool shows and other things going on downtown, there seemed to be an invasion of tourists. I knew that this was a popular tourist destination, but I didn’t think it would happen so suddenly. In all three months that I was in Venezuela I think we saw 2 or 3 groups of tourists, so I was not expecting this at all. One week down and just three weeks left to explore.

Adios,

Lexi

Location: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico