Today is a holiday in Mexico, the birthday of Benito Juarez.....well almost....his birthday is March 21. The Mexicans have recently started following the custom of the USA of celebrating holidays on a Monday to provide a long weekend.
When I read about Benito Juarez, I think of President Obama. In 1858, Juarez was the first indigenous man to be elected to the presidency of Mexico. He was Zapotec Amerindian. Through hard work and many struggles, he graduated from the university, became a lawyer and defended the indigenous communities. He held local and state offices before working up to the presidency. Once in office, he worked with the liberals to make many reforms and laws. One of the most important was the separation of church and state. Juarez and his staff were responsible for forcing the church to give up riches and properties to the state. Juarez served five terms as president. His actions served as an example for all of Latin America.
Do some googling of "Benito Juarez" and see if you do not recognize similarities betweeen Juarez and Obama.
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The Mexican students studying at Guadalajara Learning Center were off celebrating their holiday. For us students of Spanish it was classes as usual. This week, I am once again in a class with Ellie. Our instructors are Monica and _____________ forgive my senior moment.... ; two hours of study with each. Cannot say that I absorb the information very well as it is all oral. I am learning to tune my ears to espanol and that is really why I am attending the school.
Jo and I ate our mid-day meal at a restaurant on Independencia....one with a sidewalk cafe. What I ate was not as important as the location. Could not have had a better viewing point for people watching. My number one observation was that the Mexican women and girls sure do wear tight clothing. I hide my belly with loose blouses. The local women let it all hang out...and stretch their low cut tops over their bulges. Tight hip hugging pants are most popular with the young women of all sizes and shapes. Saw many women with skin tight pants and very high pencil heel shoes. Oh, the price of beauty!
My lunch was good..... a chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms and cream cheese in a flavorful spinach pesto. (I know....that is why I have the bulges!) Jo did a little shopping in the craft stores and then I followed her to a clothing store where my resistance wore thin and I purchased a loose fitting pumpkin orange cotton shirt. I am not ready to adapt to Mexican style of dress. Or perhaps, I am. Maybe this is how the Abuelas (grandmothers) dress. I sometimes forget my age.
It is 6:00 pm, time to open the doors and windows to bring in the cool evening air. I continue to enjoy my apartment. It is set at street level, in the back of the building so that I do not hear as much street noise (cars, buses, etc.) as the front units. The floors in the two bedrooms, bath, dining room, living room, kitchen and patio are all of a glossy tile. I do not know how they keep up the shine. It always looks clean and beautiful. I love the airiness of the kitchen, patio, and my bedroom. I am happy to spend hours ....days....weeks in this space. Need to add that my walk-in shower measures 5' x 5'. Those who know me know that I often stay in shared space of a hostel without a qualm. But, for the moment, I am living the life of luxury. Everything is relative.
Deb Redfield asked why I would not want to live in Ajijic. Ajijic offers a pleasant place to live, but is too far (one hour) from Guadalajara. Walking in Ajijic would be limited. There are communities ...but, then you have wide open spaces. At this time of year, they are dry and brown. Iwould miss the green of home.
I think that I could live in Tlaquepaque during the winter and spring months. This area of Guadalajara is spread out. Walking is limitless. I would like being near Guadalajara for its cultural aspects.
What would I miss the most?? My friends. Friends are my greatest treasure and hard to duplicate. I would miss having a selection of books in English. This could be easily remedied by owning a "Kindle" book marketed by Amazon. Purchased books can easily be delivered electronically.
The solution to missing friends would be for several of us to spend a month together in Tlaquepaque. It is an inexpensive was to spend a vacation.
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