Category: Mexico

Last day of school today.  Tomorrow I take a bus to spend a few days in Guadalajara.  I fly to Vancouver on Tuesday from Puerto Vallarta.

Last night I took my teachers out to play pool and yes there was beer too.  We finished off the night with tacos in the street.  Perfect!  My teachers have been my friends here and we spent a lot of time together in school of course and occasionally outside of school.  I will miss them.

In Mexico Christmas is traditionally celebrated starting in the evening of the 24th.  Many go to an evening mass then return home or to a relative’s home to celebrate.  A Christmas dinner is served shortly after midnight and the celebration continues until early morning.  Christmas day is more relaxed and a day off for most.

For me yesterday was completely normal.  Today I went for a walk to take a couple of pictures.  The city centro was very quiet however a few shops were open including the cafe I patronize.  You can see the sky above.  The temperature dropped down to 8C and may reach 18C later today.  Chilly but better than YVR.  I will probably have dinner with some other students later today.

If I allow myself to recognize my progress in Spanish,  I am now very functional.  I understand most of what I hear or read, and know the grammar quite well.  However, I still commit errors when speaking, sometimes more than others depending on the topic and my stress level.  I find this frustrating and am now focusing on speaking better.

The 12 weeks of school ends next week.  I was going to go to the beach for January 3-13 and I had hoped that some teachers would also go.  That didn’t work out so I decided to stay another week in Guanajuato and take private conversation classes.  Luckily I am able to stay in the same apartment an extra week.

I will take a bus to Puerto Vallarta Saturday January 10 and I fly to YVR on Tuesday January 13.