Birds, Gringo Group, Dancers, etc...

Hola Amigos! It's a beautiful day here in Guanajuato. I'm sitting in the large outside patio, at Academia Falcon, writing this and watching the gorgeous birds while the sun is shining and the breeze is blowing. It is great staying at the school. It is like have our own little hacienda. Very few students are staying here.

Those of you who know me best know that I am a bird watcher. The first day here I saw the most beautiful bird. I still don't know what it was. I have never seen one like it. I will have to look it up in my bird book when I return. Perhaps some of you could help me. It had a large yellow strip of feathers on each side of it's tail, very obvious when flying. It also had a yellow breast and was red under the chin, a small-mid-size bird. Oh well, I have also seen the vermillion flycatcher and many little humingbirds. There is also a bird here which I cannot locate visually, but it has the most gorgeous and varied calls, very different. I'm thinking it is possibly a mockingbird mocking "los pajaros Mexicanos" aquii. :)

Moving along to those of you not so infatuated with birds...Que Lastima!

Curtis and I had a fun and interesting breakfast today. A woman who lives here invited us to the "Gringo Group." What interesting people! There were about 30 of us there. Although it was mainly "los Gringos" there was a Hispanic woman there from Guadalajara. She gave me her card to call her when we come to Guadalajara. She said she would be our guide. We probably will take her up on that. We love riding the bus to various locals on weekends. I enjoyed visiting with her in Span. She seemed pleased to have someone there speaking to her in Span. However, I certainly wasn't the only one there who spoke Spanish. This pleased me, that many there were making genuine efforts to learn the language and some were quite fluent.

Also, I kept noticing a woman at the end of the table. She looked so familiar. One woman stood up and mentioned this woman's name and the fact that they were working with a university to open a school for children in the community here. Then, the pieces all fit together. My first summer in Guanajuato I had stayed with Alma Delgado and her family down the street from Acadmia. I was fortunate in that a group from the Univ. of Arizona was staying in "la misma casa." That group was so nice to include me in their activities. The home next door was owned by Alma's mother, who also hosted students. Each Sun. we had a large meal at the mother's home. This is how I had known Jolene, Jackie, and her husband. Apparently they never left after that summer. They made a trip to Ariz., packed their bags, signed a long-term lease on a ranch outside of Guanajuato, and are currently provide equine-therapy to kids.

The Univ. of Ariz. has just opened a facility adjoining their's which offers programs for teachers from the states wanting to train in MX. as well as programs for children and parents here. I had seen a notice that U. of A. was opening a school, but didn't know where it was. My friend, Rosa Maria had been with the group from U. of A. and lived "en mi casa" durante the summer of 2004. After leaving Guanajuato, Rosa Maria invited me to visit her in Tucson, which I did. That's a great place too! Anyway, we learned that there are only about 300 "Gringos" in Guanajuato as compared to over 20,0000 in San Miguel de Allende. I am glad that the people coming here and living here are helping the community. I am also selfishly glad that the number is low.

Oh by the way, I saw my friend Alma this wk. We will be visiting her sometime this week. Can't wait to catch up. Unfortunately, both her parents are now deceased. We learned that last year when we paid her a visit. Alma is definitely of Span. descent, red hair, fair skin, blue eyes. She is also a phenmoninal chef!

After the great breakfast at the beautiful old hacienda (great Mexican folk art all around), gorgeous grounds, old buildings, etc...we left for our Sun. stroll toward El Centro. What a super time today! There was a group of children dressed for the dance of the old men. It is so cute. I will try to put those pics and/ or the video on this blog. There were also the Aztec dancers with their beautiful headdresses, with the immensely long feathers.

Well, better run. This week I am taking reading comprehension, a grammar class, a writing class, and a Latin Literature class. All the classes are taught in Span. It is fun when you can take the classes in literature, history, music, murals, etc...It's a great way to hear the language spoken and learn more of the culture too. Pues,,,Adios Amigos. Hasta Luego, Joy