The Med Student

I'm finally writing a post about Garrett, now that he's almost through with his first semester... better late than never!

For starters, he is doing great in his classes. He has always put his whole heart into everything he does, and med-school is no exception. I couldn't be more proud of him!

He has already completed Cell Biology/Histology, and Embryology, and will be finishing Anatomy & Lab, Biochemistry, and Genetics in the next few weeks. His favorite classes this semester are Anatomy and Biochem. After this one, he has two and a half more semesters in Mexico.

It has been really nice living so close to the campus. He's able to come home for lunch most days, and, our friends that he studies with live right around the corner from us.

This semester has flown by, and I know the next semesters will go by as fast, if not faster. We're trying to make the most of our time here, knowing that the day we move back to the U.S. will be here before we know it.

We're both thankful for this opportunity. Every day that we're here, Garrett is getting closer and closer to becoming a doctor!

Cosas Alegres

It's been a while since I've posted. Things are still going great in Guadalajara. Garrett is doing great in his first semester of med-school. I'll write more about what he's doing soon.

In September, I went back to the U.S. for two weeks. It was nice to see friends and family, including our two sweet pups. We really miss everyone!

I have been painting a lot since I've been back. My subject: Cosas alegres, or Happy/Cheerful Things.

Tianguis de Santa Tere

I went with a friend on Sunday morning to Tianguis de Santa Tere. I had to look up exactly what a tianguis is, because it differs from a mercado in a few important ways. 

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Here is a little information on this interesting and fun part of Mexican culture, courtesy of Wikipedia, Tianguis and Traditional Fixed Markets:

A tianguis is an open air market or bazaar that is held on a certain day(s) in a town or city neighborhood.

The main (and coolest) difference is that Tianguis were the main form of commerce of the Aztec Empire, and still function in much of the same way as they did in Mesoamerica. Mercados were later introduced as a way to regulate the pre Hispanic Tianguis, and are almost always set up in buildings owned and operated by the local government. 

As an interesting side note, one of the oldest continually operating tianguis in Mexico is the one in Cuautitlán, just outside of Mexico City, which has been going on every Tuesday for over 500 years.

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At Tianguis de Santa Tere, I came away with 2 cute head-wraps, a shirt, and a very cute, teeny-tiny plant that now goes by the name, Chiquita. Total amount spent: 70 pesos (about $5.50 USD).

"Chiquita"

Whether it's a Mercado or Tianguis, these places provide jobs/income for LOTS of people. While in Tlaquepaque, one group of tenants organized a protest of an impending building project designed to replace their existing market with a new commercial area with underground parking, among other things. I'm not sure what has happened since the protest, but I thought I'd share this video I took as they passed by.

Pintando (Painting)

I spent the day painting on Friday, and enjoyed every minute of it! I'm using watercolors-- the only supplies that would fit in my suitcase this time. I guess, technically, they didn't "fit" in my suitcase, either, judging by the hefty fee I had to pay for having an overweight bag... (another important lesson learned!)

I worked on my children's book for a while and now only lack a few more illustrations before I can self-publish it. I'm enjoying the process.

I also painted this umbrella scene from a photo I snapped at one of the local malls. They looked so pretty floating on the water; a very fitting subject for this rainy season.

Back to el Centro

Two Saturdays ago, we went to el Centro Historico de Guadalajara to have our photos taken for our visas, and decided to walk around and enjoy the sights. It was fun and very festive! While we were there, we stopped and had Elotes (Mexican Street Corn)...so good! Here's a link to a recipe from Serious Eats that seems similar to what we had (with the sauce and lime!).

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/07/how-to-make-mexican-street-corn-elotes.html

And, here are some photos from Downtown:

Expiatorio de Guadalajara

Palacio de Gobierno

Catedral Metropolitana

The Walk Home from School

Here are a few photos I took on the walk home from UAG.

Citrus trees are everywhere

Our neighborhood

We've Been Here One Week (Una Semana!)

We've already been here one week... it feels like we just got here. Last night, we cooked dinner for everyone, and it wasn't the "Mary Tyler Moore party" I feared it would be! We had a nice time, talking and laughing until 10:30. We thought everyone had forgotten that we were cooking for them, but then remembered where we were... everyone showed up right on time (give or take an hour).

Today is Domingo, the day that people like to spend with their families. We got to meet Maria's other daughters and their families. They are all so sweet.

Garrett and I had a relaxing day-- just got back from eating cena (dinner) at a taqueria. Garrett had tacos with bacon, steak, mushrooms, onion, and queso; I had steak tacos with nopales (prickly pear cactus), pico de gallo and lime.

I'm not a food photographer, but here's a photo of the meal. The red drink is an agua fresca, called Jamaica, a hibiscus tea.

After dinner, we explored the plaza some more, and discovered the Alfredo's croissant shop! We had some of their croissants in Tlaquepaque on our visit in April and thought they were delicious. They have all different flavors like peach, strawberry and apple, but the best one is loaded with chocolate. We bought a few to take home for dessert.

I had already started to dig into this morsel of chocolate-y goodness, when I thought I should show you what I'm talking about. It's. So. Good.

Un Dia Lluvioso (A Rainy Day)

We had quite a storm yesterday afternoon. While visiting with Sr. Jaime after lunch, it started to rain and hail. Within 15 minutes, the pool overflowed and the courtyard flooded. It was a deluge! The storm lasted about an hour, but the power outage lasted all afternoon, so Sr. Jaime offered to drive us to the bookstore in Chapalita and to Office Max in Zapopan.

Getting out of our neighborhood was an adventure in and of itself! All the traffic lights were out, and there was no four-way-stop business going on. Cars were going every which way, honking, while choice words-- that our Spanish course failed to mention--sounded from some of the drivers' windows.

Once out of the chaos, we had a nice cruise over to Chapalita, where Garrett bought his review books. We drove past the Governor's house on the way; it's not very far from Maria's.

At Office Max, we were able to get everything on our list, except a day planner. I'm beginning to wonder if those aren't so popular here...

Little by Little

I took this photo on our walk down from the pyramids of Teuchitlan, Jalisco during our visit to Guadalajara in April. The fallen blooms from the trees brightened all of the roads.

Nuestro Primera Dia Viviendo en Mexico (Our First Day Living in Mexico)

This is actually our segundo dia en Mexico, but I want to start al principio (at the beginning). We arrived in Guadalajara around 10:30 p.m. Sunday and took a taxi from the airport to the house we will be staying in, hopefully for the duration of our time in Guadalajara. Señora Maria, the muy agradable (very nice) owner of the house, showed us to our new room.

The climate is so pleasant here. The windows stay open 24/7, except last night, when a storm rolled through. This rainy season will last through October.

Back to our cuarto:
Our room is past the courtyard in a separate part of the house, with our own private bath.
It is a comfortable, airy room with two closets, two desks, and a king-size bed. There is good natural light from the two large frosted windows, and a cool breeze from the two sliding, screened windows. Large palm trees are growing around the pool outside our window.

Ayer (yesterday), we decided to walk to the grocery store in a plaza about cinco cuadras (5 blocks) away. We bought some food to cook for dinner (we're responsible for our dinners; breakfast and lunch is provided daily). It was a nice walk. We feel very safe in this colonia called Providencia. Later on yesterday afternoon, we walked to the school Garrett will be attending. It's very close. We met a fellow student who showed us around the campus, and then walked with us to a plaza and papeleria, where Garrett can buy supplies.

Communication is still pretty limited, but Sra. Maria and Sr. Jaime (Maria's employee/handy-man/cook) have both said we're learning quickly. We had an hour-long conversation with Jaime en la cocina (in the kitchen) during comida (lunch) today. We weren't able to follow word-for-word, but still got to know each other better.

He and Maria are excellent cooks! So far, we have had omelets with espinaca y tomate; pasta con pollo and mushrooms, with a side of squash, potatoes and carrots; delicious breakfast sandwiches with a side of fresh piña; and carne en su jugo, one of Guadalajara's most popular dishes...yum!