Puebla

I have been thinking about Academia's closing and have also been busy enjoying Puebla too. I realize that Academia's closing hit me hard for a couple of reasons:

A. My friends are losing jobs

B. I am losing my school, my collegiate home, etc...This is my community. That's what's it really about for me: a group of friends I will probably never see again, a place where I am known by my first name, etc...I think I am a jinx for schools. My own high school burned down. We have never had a reunion. My department and my sorority at the university I attended no longer exists.-pretty ironic for someone like me because...I have always enjoyed the collegiate family/atmosphere. Personally I think young people miss alot taking online classes and not staying in the dorm or sorority house, etc...the feeling of being part of something, just isn't the same...That's why we now need all these crazy outlets like Facebook, huh? :) I guess I was secretly hoping/thinking that this one school would always be around. I would always have a collegiate home in Guanajuato, a community where I was known and felt at home..Crazy, I know...

Anyway, because my two previous blogs were regarding this, I promise that this will be the last blog I will write regarding the closing of Academia Falcon. Thanks for bearing with me through the process.

The following information is regarding Puebla. :)

We had a good day yesterday. The weather was great, as always.

After a good breakfast downtown, we watched and enjoyed an exhibition of traditional dancers in the square in front of the cathedral. Five different indigenous dance groups, all dressed up in masks and costumes, performed various traditional dances. Unfortunately, they were all performing at the same time so it was often a competiton of noise and chaos as we went from one group to another watching. We took a lot of videos.

Then we spent a big part of the day just browsing through various "flea markets" where different artists were displaying jewelry, pottery, clothing, arts/crafts etc. We went to one area that was dedicated to antiques and antique furniture, another that was dedicated to graphic artists and painters, etc. It was great just to walk and browse, or to sit down on a park bench and just watch the people. There were bands playing in the evening in the main square. Some of them were very interesting and different. One group used the ancient horns, drums from prehispanic times.

Later in the afternoon we visited a museum, the ex-convent of Santa Rosa, which had very interesting displays of the different regions of the state of Puebla and the types of indigenious crafts, pottery and clothing of each. This particular convent has a very large Talavera kitchen that is supposed to be unchanged in the last three hundred years. It is thought to be the kitchen where the nuns first invented "mole," taking the elements of an indigenious recipe and improving upon it. It was very interesting and beautiful. The entire kitchen was of talavera tile: roof, floor, walls, etc...beautiful! Puebla is known for their talavera. There are beautiful buildings everywhere covered in talavera. The Capilla de Rosaria, is particularly beautiful as well as the facades of many buildings here, covered in talavera tile.

At day's end, we bought our bus tickets to the airport in Mexico City for Tuesday afternoon. One advantage that Puebla has is that a particular bus company has service directly to the airport, which will be a convenience to us. That saves us from having to go to the TAPA bus terminal in Mexico City and then taking a cab from there to the airport. We now have everything in place to leave here on Tuesday the 11th. We will arrive at DFW that evening.

Today, (Mon.), we go to Cholula and a couple of the smaller villages near there. We have hired a guide to take us. He will pick us up at the hotel this morning.

Our summer in MX. is quickly coming to an end. I feel as if it is not only an end of the summer, but the end of a period in my life, my collegiate life at Academia Falcon. I am especially glad we came this summer. LittlIe did we know that when we planned this trip, it would be our last time at the school in Guanajuato. Although I am very sad it is closing, I am very glad I was there to say good-bye. As Jorge and I discussed, times change. My time in Guanajuato has changed. It is still the same place it has always been, but the collegiate aspect of it is no longer there for me. Time to review, contemplate, feel grateful, and then move on, which for both of us in the immediate future involves going home and back to work. We will be happy to see loved ones and co-workers and get back into our work routine. This year too will bring new changes in our family life, mainly a daughter-in-law, in March. We have really enjoyed having Luke and April in our lives and look forward to many happy times. Hasta Luego, Joy