Guadalajara, day 7 and 8

Thursday started as the other mornings around 7, getting ready for school. Breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs (huevos, [wevos]), refried beans, fresh squized orange juice, and cereals was on the table. :) Wouldn't mind having someone to prepare that stuff for me at home... :D

School was good, I was feeling much more confident after spending Wednesday afternoon and evening studying so hard. I could really feel a progress! :) After school I went out to find the bus to one of the other parts of the city: Tlaquepaque ([Tlakeehpakeeh]). With a little trouble and asking for directions (YEAH - I recognized when someone mentioned the number 275! Small steps...) I managed, and got into a bus for a bumpy, crowded half hour drive out of the center.

The whole bus-thing here is actually kinda peculiar. In most cases there are no signs for the bus stop, though it does not stop anywhere. You just really need to know I guess. I haven't been able to find a map with the busses or a schedule. Im sure they exist, but it is complicated by the fact that there are numerous bus companies covering the city, and different kinds of busses... Pew... I wonder if the Guadalarajans actually have an overview themselves. :)

Tlaquepaque

Once there I might have missed big parts of the area, but the center of Tlaquepaque where I decided to spend my afternoon was so tranquil, calm, and just so pleasant, compared to the chaos in the city. You know Im not that good with big cities... This part of the city has a lot of arts and crafts for sale, many of the streets are pedestrians only, and though I can imagine it being a tourist hell during summer, it was really nice. After having checked out the neighborhood I found a restaurant recommended in my guidebook, had a slightly disappointing, but however filling lunch. Afterwards I went back to the main square, sat for a while in the sun, and headed back towards the city. Again a challenge... I had asked the tourist information which bus to take to get home, and knew the bus number. Only I couldn't find the bus, so had to ask for directions... again... twice. Luckily people are nice and happy to help. And my goodness, does a few words of Spanish help! :D

Soooo I found the bus and had the worst bus ride like ever. It felt like hours of driving on the messed up roads in a crappy bus, so I really wasn't feeling too good when I got off. And I didn't even know exactly where I was, so it took me a while with my guide book map without street names to find mi casa. But as always (so far!) I did. Then I just crashed. Woke up later with the hope to manage to write my blog, study a bit of Spanish, or at least read in my book, but I was too zombie for either. As far as I remember, I watched tv for a while (yes, I have a big flatscreen tv in my room, in case I havent mentioned...!) and fell asleep early.

Friday, Jan 21st was my last day in school! Getting there of course I wished that I had been able to add too my progress by studying the night before, but I have learned to come to terms with situations like this lately. Previously I could blame myself and feeling bad for not doing better, but now I am better able to realise that I always do my best. And if the temporary best if not my usual best, then probably I had other needs I had to take care of - like sleeping after exploring the city, or watching tv to give my brain a break. :) I think this is a very important lesson, and one that can keep me from getting stressed in the future!

My teacher Sara!

Where were we... Oh yes, last day in school! Was nice, I can feel that I am getting a better grip of certain useful words. I wish I could stay longer in the school though. But maybe some other time. :) The class ended with a test, to see if we had learned the curriculum of the week. It wasn't too hard, though for some reason I am unable to remember the numbers 15, 40 and 50. More practice, I guess! Said goodbye to Sara, and she gave me a big hug and spoke for 10 minutes about this and that. Sorry I cant be more specific, but since I didn't understand the details, its kinda hard to remember! :D


Then I was off, back to Lita's house for lunch. For once it was somewhat crowded, with her daughter Cristina, Cristina's husband, and 3 other students living in the house present. But cosy and a good atmosphere in the kitchen, eating chop suey. Again in the afternoon I just enjoy being able to relax in my room, with TV and a long nap (did you read about my dream? Its in the previous post!).